Permits school districts to define excused absences, and provide home-instruction, for certain students whose parents are detained.

A4909

ASSEMBLY, No. 4909

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

222nd LEGISLATURE

�

INTRODUCED MAY 7, 2026

Sponsored by:

Assemblyman� BALVIR SINGH

District 7 (Burlington)

SYNOPSIS

���� Permits school districts to define excused absences,
and provide home-instruction, for certain students whose parents are detained.

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

���� As introduced.

��

An Act
concerning excused absences and flexible instruction in
public schools and supplementing chapter 36 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.�� A school district
in developing, adopting, and implementing policies and procedures regarding
attendance of students at school may define an excused absence from school to
include an absence for:

���� (1)�� the sudden detention of
the student�s parent or guardian by United States Immigration and Customs
Enforcement; or

���� (2)�� a change in the
designated caregiver of a student due to the sudden detention of the student�s
parent or guardian by United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

���� b.��� The Commissioner of
Education shall develop guidelines on defining an excused absence for a school
district choosing to adopt and implement a policy in accordance with the
provisions of subsection a. of this section.� The guidelines shall include, at
a minimum, any supporting documentation that may be required by a school
district upon the student�s return to school for the absence to be considered
an excused absence.

���� 2.��� a.� A school district may
adopt a policy to provide home or out-of-school instruction to a student who is
unable to participate in the usual education setting as a result of:

���� (1)�� the sudden detention of
the student�s parent or guardian by the United States Immigration and Customs
Enforcement; or

���� (2)�� a change in the
designated caregiver of a student due to the sudden detention of the student�s
parent or guardian by United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

���� b.��� The Commissioner of
Education shall develop guidelines on the provision of home or out-of-school
instruction pursuant to subsection a. of this section.� The guidelines shall
include, at a minimum:

���� (1)�� procedures for a student
or designated caregiver to request home or out-of-school instruction;

���� (2)�� any supporting
documentation that may be required by a school district to be included in a
student or other designated caregiver�s request for home or out-of-school
instruction; and

���� (3)�� standards for the
provision of home or out-of-school instruction pursuant to this section.�

���� 3.� The State Board of
Education shall, in accordance with the "Administrative Procedure
Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), adopt rules and regulations as
necessary to implement the provisions of this act.

���� 4.��� This act shall take
effect on the first day of the first full school year following the date of
enactment, but the Commissioner of Education and State Board of Education may
take any anticipatory administrative action in advance as may be necessary to
implement the provisions of this act.

STATEMENT

���� This bill permits school
districts to define excused absences, and provide home instruction, for certain
students whose parents are detained by United States Immigration and Customs
Enforcement (ICE).

���� This bill provides statutory
authority for a school district, in developing, adopting, and implementing its
policies and procedures regarding attendance of students at school, to define
an excused absence from school to include an absence for: (1) the sudden
detention of the student�s parent or guardian by ICE; or (2) a change in the
designated caregiver of a student due to the sudden detention of the student�s
parent or guardian by ICE.�

���� Under the bill, the
Commissioner of Education will develop guidelines on defining an excused
absence from school for these reasons.� The guidelines would include any
supporting documentation that may be required by the school district upon the
student�s return to school for the absence to be considered an excused absence.

���� The bill also permits a school
district to adopt a policy to provide home or out-of-school instruction to a
student who is unable to participate in the usual education setting as a result
of the detention of a student�s parent or guardian by ICE or a change in the
student�s designated caregiver due to the detention of the student�s parent or
guardian.� The bill requires the Commissioner of Education to develop various
minimum guidelines for inclusion in the policy.� Current State Board of
Education regulations permit home or out-of-school instruction in only limited
circumstances.� This bill would allow districts to provide home or
out-of-school instruction regulations for the reasons expressed in the bill.