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A130
ASSEMBLY, No. 130
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
222nd LEGISLATURE
�
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2026 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Assemblyman AL BARLAS
District 40 (Bergen, Essex and Passaic)
Assemblyman CHRISTOPHER P. DEPHILLIPS
District 40 (Bergen, Essex and Passaic)
Assemblyman STERLEY S. STANLEY
District 18 (Middlesex)
Co-Sponsored by:
Assemblymen Azzariti Jr. and Scharfenberger
SYNOPSIS
���� Establishes Special Education Transportation Task
Force.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
���� Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative
Counsel.
��
An Act
establishing the Special Education Transportation Task
Force.
����
Be It
Enacted
by the Senate and General Assembly of
the State of New Jersey:
���� 1.��� As used in this act,
�school bus� means every motor vehicle operated by, or under contract with, a
public or governmental agency, or religious or other charitable organization or
corporation, or privately operated for compensation for the transportation of
children to or from school for secular or religious education, which complies
with the regulations of the Department of Education affecting school buses,
including �School Vehicle Type I� and �School Vehicle Type II� as defined
pursuant to R.S.39:1-1.
���� 2.��� a.� There is established
the Special Education Transportation Task Force.� The purpose of the task force
shall be to study and make recommendations on best practices for the
transportation of students who receive special education and related services,
including identifying and responding to medical and behavioral emergencies
experienced by these students.
���� b.��� The task force shall
consist of the following 18 members:
���� (1)� the Commissioner of
Education, or a designee;
���� (2)� the Director of the
Office of Special Education within the Department of Education, or a designee;
���� (3)� the Special Education
Ombudsman, or a designee;
���� (4)� the Ombudsman for
Individuals with Intellectual or Developmental Disabilities and their Families,
or a designee; and
���� (5)� 14 public members
appointed by the Governor, in consultation with the Commissioner of Education,
who shall include the following:
���� (a)�� a representative from
the New Jersey School Boards Association, the New Jersey Association of School
Administrators, the New Jersey Principals and Supervisors Association, and the
SPAN Parent Advocacy Network;
���� (b)� a nurse
practitioner/clinical nurse specialist with special education experience;
���� (c)�� a physical therapist
with experience in transportation safety specific to the physical requirements
of various physical disability classifications;
���� (d)� a behavior specialist
with experience addressing the risks associated with autism or emotional
regulation impairment classifications, and strategies to address those risks;
���� (e)�� an individual employed
by a school district in the State as a director of special education services;
���� (f)�� two individuals who
serve on child study teams at public schools in the State;
���� (g)� two individuals who serve
as bus aides on school buses that provide transportation to students who
receive special education and related services; and
���� (h) two parents with children
who have received or are receiving special education and related services that
include transportation services.
���� c.��� Vacancies in the
membership of the task force shall be filled in the same manner as the original
appointments were made.
���� d.��� The task force shall
organize within 90 days of the date of enactment of this act.� The task force
shall select a chairperson and a vice-chairperson from among its members and
shall appoint a secretary who need not be a member of the task force.� A majority
of the membership of the task force shall constitute a quorum for the
transaction of task force business.� The task force may meet and hold hearings
at the place or places as it shall designate.
���� e.��� Members of the task
force shall serve without compensation, but may be reimbursed for necessary
expenses incurred in the performance of their duties as members of the task
force within the limits of funds appropriated or otherwise made available to
the task force for its purposes.
���� 3.��� a.� The Department of
Education shall provide such stenographic, clerical, and other administrative
assistants, and such professional staff as the task force requires to carry out
its work.
���� b.��� The task force shall be
entitled to call to its assistance and avail itself of the services of the
employees of any State, county, or municipal department, board, bureau,
commission, or agency as it may require and as may be available for its
purposes.
���� 4.��� a.� It shall be the duty
of the task force to study and make recommendations as to best practices for
the transportation of students who receive special education and related
services.� The task force shall also make recommendations as to appropriate policies
and training of school staff and school bus staff that address preventing,
identifying, and responding to medical and behavioral emergencies that occur
while transporting students who receive special education and related services
on a school bus.� In making its recommendations, the task force shall:
���� (1)� review best practices in
other states;
���� (2)� review current school
transportation policies specific to students who receive special education and
related services; and
���� (3)� identify areas of concern
for the transportation of these students, including those related to safety,
access to necessary equipment, communication with parents and legal guardians,
and staffing needs.
���� b.��� The recommendations
described in subsection a. of this section may include proposals for specific
statutory changes and methods to foster cooperation between parents and school
districts in providing appropriate transportation services to students who receive
special education and related services.�
����
���� 5.��� The task force shall
issue a report of its recommendations to the Governor and, pursuant to section
2 of P.L.1991, c.164 (C.52:14-19.1), to the Legislature no later than 12 months
after the organization of the task force.
���� 6.��� This act shall take
effect immediately and expire upon the issuance of the report by the task force
pursuant to section 5 of this act.
STATEMENT
���� This bill establishes the
Special Education Transportation Task Force.� The purpose of the task force is
to study and make recommendations for best practices in transporting students
who receive special education and related services, including preventing,
identifying, and responding to medical and behavioral emergencies.
���� The task force is to consist
of 18 members, including the Commissioner of Education, the Director of the
Office of Special Education within Department of Education, the Special
Education Ombudsman, the Ombudsman for Individuals with Intellectual or Developmental
Disabilities and their Families, and 14 public members to be appointed by the
Governor in consultation with the commissioner.
���� The bill directs the task
force to study and make recommendations as to best practices for the
transportation of students who receive special education and related services,
including recommendations as to appropriate policies and training of school
staff and school bus staff that address preventing, identifying, and responding
to medical and behavioral emergencies that occur while transporting these
students on a school bus.� In undertaking its work under the provisions of the
bill, the task force is to: (1) review best practices in other states; (2)
review current school transportation policies specific to students who receive
special education and related services; and (3) identify areas of concern for
transportation of these students, including those related to safety, access to
necessary equipment, communication with parents and legal guardians, and
staffing needs.
���� Pursuant to the provisions of
the bill, the task force is to issue a report of its recommendations to the
Governor and Legislature no later than 12 months after the organization of the
task force.