A5609

An Act concerning commercial cheating services and supplementing P.L.1960, c.39 (C.56:8-1 et seq.).

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

1. As used in this act:

“Assigned task” means any task assigned, directed, or otherwise given to a learner by a sponsor or the sponsor’s representative, the performance on which will be evaluated for credit. “Assigned task” includes, but is not limited to:

(1) writing a term paper, thesis, dissertation, essay, or report;

(2) providing responses to, participating in, or otherwise engaging in an exam;

(3) preparing any other work product in response to an assignment; and

(4) attending classes or other instructional interactions when the task is assigned, directed, or otherwise given to a learner by a sponsor or the sponsor’s representative and the performance on which will be evaluated for credit.

“Assignment” means anything in written, electronic, recorded, pictorial, artistic, or any other form issued by a sponsor or the sponsor’s representative setting forth, conveying, or soliciting learner performance of or on, one or more assigned tasks. “Assignment” includes, but is not limited to, materials, whether presented on paper or a computer, setting forth problems for the learner to solve, questions for the learner’s response, exam content, scenarios to which the learner is to react, and similar tasks.

“Confidential exam or assignment” means any assignment, including without limitation, any exam that a sponsor or the sponsor’s representative provides to a learner under confidential conditions.

“For credit” means for evaluation by a sponsor or the sponsor’s representative in connection with the issuance of any grade, evaluation, degree, diploma, certification, certificate, credential, exam score, or professional license.

“Learner” means a person whose performance on one or more assigned tasks will be evaluated for credit and includes, but is not limited to, students, candidates for professional certification and licensure, test takers, examinees, and workforce skills trainees.

“Organization” means a company, partnership, corporation, institution, association, body, State agency, or other entity.

“Sponsor” means:

(1) any public or nonpublic institution of higher education operating in this State that provides an educational program:

(a) for which it grants, awards, or otherwise issues an associate’s degree, bachelor’s degree, graduate degree, professional degree, or any other degree, credential, certification, or certificate; or

(b) that is acceptable for credit towards an associate’s degree, bachelor’s degree, graduate degree, professional degree, or any other degree, credential, certification, or certificate;

(2) any organization that owns, sponsors, grants, awards, or otherwise issues a professional license, including a professional or occupational licensing board regulated by the State or a local government, to a person or organization in the State that bears the organization’s name or trademark and signifies completion of a set of requirements associated with the license;

(3) any organization that owns, sponsors, grants, awards, or otherwise issues credentials or certifications bearing the organization’s name or trademark to persons or organizations in this State and signifying completion of a set of requirements associated with the credential or certification; or

(4) any organization that owns, sponsors, administers or otherwise delivers exams bearing the organization’s name or trademark to a person or organization in the State.

“Work product” means anything in written, electronic, recorded, pictorial, artistic, or other form that is submitted to a sponsor showing full or partial completion of an assigned task. “Work product” includes, but is not limited to, a term paper, thesis, dissertation, essay, report, and responses to an exam.

2. a. An organization or person shall not, for a fee or other compensation:

(1) prepare, advertise to prepare, offer to prepare, or cause to be prepared any work product for or on behalf of a learner;

(2) sell, advertise to sell, offer to sell, or cause to be sold any work product to a learner; or

(3) complete or otherwise perform an assigned task for or on behalf of a learner, whether in whole or in part, with the knowledge, or under circumstances in which the organization or person should reasonably have known, that the work product or the completion of the assigned task will be submitted by or on behalf of the learner as the learner’s own work for credit.

b. An organization or person shall not advertise the sale or other distribution of, or sell or otherwise distribute, a confidential examination or assignment, or any portion or detailed description of the contents thereof, with the knowledge, or under circumstances in which the organization or person should reasonably have known, that doing so is in violation of the rights of a sponsor.

3. a. A disclaimer or contractual language between a learner and an organization or person providing services to the learner shall not exempt the organization or person from the provisions of this act.

b. A disclaimer or contractual language includes, but is not limited to, a statement that:

(1) the learner will not use any work product in completing all or part of the assigned tasks;

(2) the learner has not been required to complete the assigned tasks personally; or

(3) the provision of the work product or completion of the assigned tasks by the person or organization has been approved by the sponsor.

4. a. An organization or person who violates the provisions of this act shall be liable to a civil penalty of up to $5,000 per violation to be collected in a summary proceeding pursuant to the “Penalty Enforcement Law of 1999,” P.L.1999, c.274 (C.2A:58-10 et seq.). The Superior Court shall have jurisdiction of proceedings for the enforcement of the penalty provided by this section.

b. In addition to the civil penalty established in subsection a. of this section, upon a finding that a violation of section 2 of this act has been committed, the court shall award to the prevailing party for each violation:

(1) liquidated damages of $2,500 or actual damages, whichever is greater;

(2) reasonable attorneys' fees and costs, including expert witness fees and other litigation expenses; and

(3) other relief, including an injunction and punitive damages, as the court may deem appropriate.

c. An action to enforce the provisions of this act may be brought by:

(1) the Attorney General; or

(2) a sponsor aggrieved by a violation of this act.

d. A second violation of section 2 of this act shall be a disorderly persons offense. A third or subsequent violation shall be a fourth degree crime.

e. In an action under this act, a court shall preserve the secrecy of an alleged confidential exam or assignment by reasonable means, including, but not limited to:

(1) granting a protective order in connection with discovery proceedings;

(2) holding in-camera hearings;

(3) sealing the records of the action; and

(4) ordering any person involved in the litigation not to disclose an alleged confidential exam or assignment without prior court approval.

5. Nothing in this act shall:

a. prevent any person or organization from providing tutorial assistance, research material, information, or other assistance to a learner, provided that the provision of such is expressly permitted by the sponsor and the person or organization providing the assistance has reasonable belief that the work product will not be represented as the learner’s own work; or

b. be construed to preempt or in any way limit, diminish, or imply the absence of rights of any party, public or private, against any person or entity in connection with the provisions of this act.

6. This act shall take effect immediately.

STATEMENT

This bill prohibits organizations or persons from advertising, selling, or distributing assigned tasks, assignments, and examinations with the knowledge that the work product will be submitted as a learner’s own work. The bill defines a learner as a person whose performance on one or more assigned tasks will be evaluated for credit and includes, but is not limited to, students, candidates for professional certification and licensure, test takers, examinees, and workforce skills trainees.

The bill provides that a disclaimer between the learner and the organization or person, including a statement that the learner will not use any work product in completing all or part of the assigned task, does not exempt the organization or person from the provisions of the bill. The bill also restricts the sale or distribution of confidential exams or assignments.

The bill establishes a penalty of up to $5,000 for a violation of the bill’s provisions. A second violation is a disorderly persons offense, and a third or subsequent violation is a fourth degree crime. A disorderly persons offense is punishable by a term of imprisonment of up to six months, a fine of up to $1,000, or both. A fourth degree crime is punishable by a term of imprisonment of up to 18 months, a fine of up to $10,000, or both. The bill provides exceptions for tutorial help or research material allowed by the sponsor, defined by the bill as a school, university, or licensing or credentialing body, and authorizes courts to preserve the secrecy of any confidential exam or assignment.