Requires school districts and nonpublic schools to develop emergency operations plans; requires school districts to provide instruction on environmental and natural disasters to students enrolled in grades kindergarten through 12.

A4540

ASSEMBLY, No. 4540

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

222nd LEGISLATURE

�

INTRODUCED MARCH 10, 2026

Sponsored by:

Assemblywoman� CAROL A. MURPHY

District 7 (Burlington)

SYNOPSIS

���� Requires school districts and nonpublic schools to
develop emergency operations plans; requires school districts to provide
instruction on environmental and natural disasters to students enrolled in
grades kindergarten through 12.

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

���� As introduced.

��

An Act

concerning emergency preparedness in the schools
and supplementing chapter 40 of Title 18A of the New Jersey Statutes.

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

���� 1.��� a. �The board of
education of each school district and chief school administrator of each
nonpublic school shall develop and coordinate an emergency operations plan to
ensure the continuity of essential school functions under all circumstances.�
The plan shall:

���� (1)�� identify a baseline of
preparedness for all potential emergencies, including fires, active shooters,
natural disasters, environmental disasters, and pandemics, to establish a
viable capability to perform essential functions during any emergency that disrupts
normal operations; and

���� (2)�� be coordinated with
State and local authorities including, but not limited to, the State Office of
Emergency Management, local law enforcement officers, county and local health
officers, county offices of emergency management, and other emergency responders.

���� b.��� The plan shall include,
but not be limited to, the following components: identification of essential
functions, programs, and personnel; procedures to implement the plan;
delegation of authority and lines of succession; identification of alternative
facilities and related infrastructure, including those for communications;
identification and protection of vital records and databases; and schedules and
procedures for periodic tests, training, and exercises. �The plan shall be
consistent with the local emergency operations plan of the municipality or
municipalities in which the school district or nonpublic school is located.

���� c.���� The board of education
or chief school administrator shall adopt and submit for review an emergency
operations plan to the Commissioner of Education, the State Office of Emergency
Management, the Department of Health, and the Office of Homeland Security and
Preparedness within six months of the effective date of this act.� The board or
administrator shall review, update, and resubmit the plan to the offices every
five years. �If an emergency incident occurs at a school or facility of the
board or nonpublic school during the five-year period, the plan shall be
reviewed as soon as practicable after the incident occurs.

���� d.��� The Office of Homeland
Security and Preparedness, the State Office of Emergency Management, the
Department of Health, and the Commissioner of Education shall review the
emergency operations plan submitted by a board of education or chief school
administrator pursuant to subsection c. of this section and, when necessary,
shall in coordination with other State agencies make recommendations to the
board or administrator for improving the plan.

���� e.���� Any plan prepared
pursuant to this section shall not be considered a government record as defined
in section 1 of P.L.1995, c.23 (C.47:1A-1.1) and shall not be available for
public inspection, copying, or the purchase of copies.

���� 2.��� The board of education
or chief school administrator of a nonpublic school shall ensure that students
enrolled in the school district or nonpublic school annually receive
appropriate instruction related to the emergency operations plan adopted by the
board of education or chief school administrator pursuant to section 1 of this
act.� The instruction shall include the expectations and responsibilities of
students in the event that an emergency occurs.��

���� 3.��� a. �Each school district
shall incorporate instruction on environmental and natural disasters in the
science, comprehensive health and physical education, and social studies
curricula for students in grades K through 12 as part of the district�s
implementation of the New Jersey Student Learning Standards.�

���� b.��� The instruction shall:

���� (1) provide information on the
types of environmental and natural disasters that have occurred, or which may
occur, in the State;

���� (2) help students to
understand school emergency policies and evacuation procedures; and

���� (3) focus on disaster
preparedness, including how to make disaster preparedness kits and plans.

���� 4.��� This act shall take
effect immediately and section 3 shall first apply in the first full school
year after the date of enactment.

STATEMENT

���� This bill requires school
districts and nonpublic schools to develop emergency operations plans.� The
bill also requires school districts to provide instruction on environmental and
natural disasters to students enrolled in grades kindergarten through 12.�

���� Under the bill, the board of
education of each school district and the chief school administrator of each
nonpublic school is required to develop and coordinate an emergency operations
plan to ensure the continuity of essential school functions under all
circumstances.� The plan is required to identify a baseline of preparedness for
all potential emergencies and be coordinated with State and local authorities.�
The bill requires the plan to include, but not be limited to, the following
components: identification of essential functions, programs, and personnel;
procedures to implement the plan; delegation of authority and lines of
succession; identification of alternative facilities and related
infrastructure, including those for communications; identification and
protection of vital records and databases; and schedules and procedures for
periodic tests, training, and exercises. �The plan will be consistent with the
local emergency operations plan of the municipality or municipalities in which
the school district or nonpublic school is located.

���� The bill directs the board of
education or chief school administrator to adopt and submit for review an
emergency operations plan to the Commissioner of Education, the State Office of
Emergency Management, the Department of Health, and the Office of Homeland
Security and Preparedness within six months of the bill�s effective date.� The
board or administrator will be required to review, update, and resubmit the
plan to the offices every five years.��������� Under the bill, the Office of
Homeland Security and Preparedness, the State Office of Emergency Management,
the Department of Health, and the Commissioner of Education will be required to
review the emergency operations plans submitted and, when necessary, make
recommendations for a plan�s improvement.

���� An emergency operation plan
prepared pursuant to this bill will not be considered a government record under
the State�s open public records act and, therefore, will not be available for
public inspection, copying, or the purchase of copies.

���� The bill also requires the
board of education or chief school administrator of a nonpublic school to
ensure that students enrolled in the school district or nonpublic school
annually receive appropriate instruction related to the emergency operations
plan adopted by the board of education or chief school administrator.� The
instruction will include the expectations and responsibilities of students in
the event that an emergency occurs.��

���� Finally, this bill requires
that each school district will incorporate instruction on environmental and
natural disasters in the science, comprehensive health and physical education,
and social studies curricula for students in grades K through 12 as part of the
district�s implementation of the New Jersey Student Learning Standards.