6A:16-5.3 Incident reporting of violence, vandalism and substance abuse
(a) Any school employee who observes or has direct knowledge from a participant or victim of an act of violence or the possession or distribution of substances, and any school employee who reports a student for being under the influence of alcohol or other drugs, according to the requirements of
N.J.S.A.18A:40A-12 and N.J.A.C. 6A:16-4.3 , shall file a report describing the incident to the school principal on a form adopted for such purposes by the district board of education.(b) The principal shall:
1. Review the incident report for accuracy in indicating the incident type, offender information, victim information, student demographics, and location of the incident;
2. Forward a copy of the incident report to the chief school administrator; and
3. Notify the chief school administrator of the action taken regarding the incident.
(c) The district board of education shall not discharge or subject to any manner of discrimination any school employee who files a report pursuant to this section.
(d) The chief school administrator annually shall:
1. Submit a report to the Commissioner of Education of each incident of violence, vandalism and substance abuse in the school district utilizing the Electronic Violence and Vandalism Reporting System (EVVRS); and
2. Verify that the data entered onto the EVVRS are correct.
(e) The chief school administrator annually shall report a numerical summary of all acts of violence and vandalism and incidents of substance abuse to the district board of education at a public hearing pursuant to
N.J.S.A. 18A:17- 46 .(f) Each district board of education shall adopt and implement procedures regarding any school employee who knowingly falsifies the annual report on violence and vandalism required under
N.J.S.A. 18A:17-46 .1. Whenever it is alleged that a school employee has knowingly falsified the annual report, the district board of education shall make a determination as to whether the employee committed the act.
2. Any employee alleged to have knowingly falsified the annual report shall be notified in writing of such allegation and shall be entitled to a hearing before the district board of education.
i. The hearing shall take place within 30 business days of the date on which the employee is notified of the allegation;
ii. The employee shall be entitled to be represented by a person of his or her choosing and to present witnesses on his or her behalf; and
iii. The district board shall notify the employee of its determination in writing within five business days of the hearing.
3. Upon determination by the district board of education that an employee has knowingly falsified the annual report, it shall act to:
i. Impose minor discipline on tenured or nontenured employees notwithstanding any other law to the contrary and if negotiated with the majority representative of the employees in the appropriate collective bargaining unit;
ii. Withhold a tenured or nontenured employee's increment for predominantly disciplinary reasons, which shall be subject to the grievance procedures established pursuant to law and shall be subject to the grievance procedures of section 8 of N.J.S.A. 34:13A-29;
iii. File tenure charges with the secretary of the board in writing and with a written statement of evidence under oath to support such charges;
iv. Terminate employment for at-will and nontenured employees; or
v. Impose such other disciplinary sanctions as may be authorized by law.
4. Any action taken by a district board pursuant to (e)3 above, shall be based on its consideration of:
i. The nature of the conduct;
ii. The circumstances under which it occurred; and
iii. The employee's prior employment record.
5. Any employee having been found responsible for the falsification of the annual report by the district board of education shall have the right to:
i. File a grievance under their respective bargaining agreements;
ii. Appeal the decision to the State Board of Education; or
iii. Appeal the decision to the Superior Court of New Jersey.
6. The availability of appeal options shall be based upon the action taken by the district board of education.