S4162

An Act concerning student privacy and amending P.L.2023, c.295.

Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

1. Section 1 of P.L.2023, c.295 is amended to read as follows:

1. a. Beginning with the 2023-2024 grade 11 class, and for two school years thereafter, a board of education or a board of trustees of a charter school shall require a student, and the student’s parent or guardian, if applicable, to complete and submit a financial aid application in a form prescribed by the Higher Education Student Assistance Authority as a prerequisite to the student receiving a high school diploma from a public high school or charter school unless a waiver is submitted to the school district or charter school as set forth in subsection b. of this section.

b. (1) A student shall be exempt from the requirement in subsection a. of this section if the student or the student’s parent or guardian submits to the school district or charter school a waiver form signed by the parent or guardian, or by the student if the student is at least 18 years of age, requesting the exemption from the requirement.

(2) If the student is under 18 years of age and a form signed by the parent or guardian cannot be reasonably obtained, the student’s school counselor may authorize the waiver as permitted by regulations promulgated by the State Board of Education pursuant to subsection h. of this section.

(3) A waiver template or form developed by the Department of Education, a board of education, or a board of trustees of a charter school for use pursuant to this subsection shall require the student, parent or guardian, or school counselor, as applicable, to provide only the student’s name, telephone number, email address, date, and signature of the individual submitting the waiver.

c. The Executive Director of the Higher Education Student Assistance Authority, in consultation with the Commissioner of Education, shall provide resources for school districts, charter schools, parents, and students that include instructions on how to complete a financial aid application prescribed by the authority. The resources shall include webinars, presentations, guidance documents, and a list of available State and federal resources. The executive director of the authority shall make available such resources as are necessary directly to school counselors or other school employees who shall share the resources with students and with the students’ parents or guardians.

d. Each school district and charter school shall annually notify students and the parents or guardians of the requirement established pursuant to this section.

e. No adverse action shall be taken by a board of education or a board of trustees of a charter school against any student due to a student’s receipt of an exemption from the requirement to complete and submit a financial aid application pursuant to subsection b. of this section.

f. Nothing in this act shall be construed as requiring school counselors, or any other school employee, to assist students in completing the financial aid application. Nothing in this act shall be construed as creating a private right of action against the school district, charter school, or the State upon compliance or noncompliance with the provisions of this act.

g. The Executive Director of the Higher Education Student Assistance Authority shall make the resources listed in subsection c. of this section available to institutions of higher education in order to facilitate the delivery of technical assistance to area high schools.

h. The State Board of Education shall adopt, pursuant to the Administrative Procedure Act,” P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), rules and regulations necessary to carry out the provisions of this act.

i. The executive director of the authority shall prepare and issue to the Department of Education, and to the Legislature pursuant to section 2 of P.L.1991, c.164 (C.52:14-19.1), a report that includes the number of students that completed a financial aid form pursuant to subsection a. of this section, as well as the number of waivers submitted to school districts or charter schools pursuant to subsection b. of this section no later than three years following the effective date of this act.

j. (1) Notwithstanding any law, rule, or regulation to the contrary, a school district or charter school shall not use or disclose any waiver, or any personal information contained within a waiver, submitted pursuant to subsection b. of this section for any purpose without the informed consent of the student or the student’s parent or guardian consistent with applicable federal and State-level protections of student educational records, including, but not limited to, the “Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974,” (20 U.S.C. s.1232g); provided, however nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit, or in any way restrict, any action that is consistent with federal law.

(2) The Department of Education shall include language consistent with paragraph (1) of this subsection on any optional waiver template developed by the department for use by a school district or charter school in connection with subsection b. of this section. The language shall be located in a prominent location on the waiver developed by the department.

(3) A school district or charter school that uses a waiver developed by the district or charter school in connection with subsection b. of this section shall include language consistent with paragraph (1) of this subsection in a prominent location on the waiver.

k. Nothing contained in P.L. , c. (pending before the Legislature as this bill) shall be construed to invalidate a waiver submitted pursuant to this section prior to the effective date of P.L. , c. (pending before the Legislature as this bill). A waiver submitted prior to the effective date of P.L. , c. (pending before the Legislature as this bill) shall be subject to the provisions of paragraph (1) of subsection j. of this section.

(cf: P.L.2023, c.295, s.1)

2. This act shall take effect immediately.

STATEMENT

This bill limits the disclosure of certain education records. Current law requires students, or the parent or guardians of students, as applicable, in the graduating classes of 2025, 2026, and 2027 to complete certain financial aid paperwork unless a waiver is submitted.

Under the bill, a waiver template or form developed by the Department of Education, a board of education, or a board of trustees of a charter school for use in collecting student financial aid information pursuant to the provisions of the bill is to require the student, parent or guardian, or school counselor, as applicable, to provide only the student’s name, telephone number, email address, date, and signature of the individual submitting the waiver.

Under the bill, school districts and charter schools are prohibited from using or disclosing the waiver submitted under P.L.2023, c.295, or any personal information contained within the waiver, without the informed consent of the student or the student’s parent or guardian consistent with applicable federal and State-level protections of student educational records, including the federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act. The bill stipulates it is not to be construed to prohibit, or in any way restrict, any action that is consistent with federal law.

Under the bill, the Department of Education is to include language consistent with the prohibition on disclosure in any optional waiver template developed by the department for use by a school district or charter school in a prominent location on the waiver. The bill requires a school district or charter school that uses a waiver developed by the district or charter school to also include language consistent with the prohibition on disclosure in a prominent location on the waiver.

Finally, the bill provides that nothing in the bill is to be construed to invalidate a waiver submitted prior to the bill’s effective date and that a waiver submitted prior to the bill’s effective date is subject to the provisions of the bill concerning the prohibition on disclosure.