"Jack Reid Law: Protect All Students Act"; prohibits harassment or bullying of nonpublic school students and requires nonpublic schools to adopt anti-harassment and bullying policy.

A5254

ASSEMBLY, No. 5254

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

222nd LEGISLATURE

�

INTRODUCED JUNE 15, 2026

Sponsored by:

Assemblywoman� VERLINA REYNOLDS-JACKSON

District 15 (Hunterdon and Mercer)

Assemblywoman� LINDA S. CARTER

District 22 (Somerset and Union)

Assemblywoman� ANDREA KATZ

District 8 (Atlantic and Burlington)

SYNOPSIS

���� �Jack Reid Law: Protect All Students Act�; prohibits
harassment or bullying of nonpublic school students and requires nonpublic
schools to adopt anti-harassment and bullying policy.

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

���� As introduced.

��

An Act
concerning harassment and bullying in nonpublic schools
and supplementing chapter 6 of Title 18A of the New Jersey Statutes.�

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

���� 1. This act shall be known and
may be cited as the �Jack Reid Law: Protect All Students Act.�

���� 2.� As used in this act:

���� �Cyberbullying� means
harassment or bullying that occurs through any form of electronic
communication.

���� �Harassment or bullying� means
the creation of a hostile environment by conduct or by threats, intimidation,
or abuse, including cyberbullying, that:

���� a. has, or would have, the
effect of unreasonably and substantially interfering with a student�s
educational performance, opportunities, or benefits or on the student�s mental,
emotional, or physical well-being;

���� b. reasonably causes, or would
reasonably be expected to cause, a student to fear for their physical safety;

���� c. reasonably causes, or would
reasonably be expected to cause, physical injury or emotional harm to a
student; or

���� d. occurs off school property
and creates, or would foreseeably create, a risk of substantial disruption
within the school environment, where it is foreseeable that the conduct,
threats, intimidation, or abuse, including verbal and nonverbal actions, might
reach school property.

���� �Nonpublic school� means an
elementary or secondary school within the State, other than a public school,
offering education for grades kindergarten through 12, or any combination of
them, wherein any child may legally fulfill compulsory school attendance
requirements and which complies with the requirements of Title VI of the
"Civil Rights Act of 1964," Pub.L.88-352 (42 U.S.C. s.2000d et seq.).

���� �School function� means a
school-sponsored extracurricular event or activity.

���� �School property� means any
area in or within any building, structure, athletic playing field, playground,
parking lot, or land contained within the real property boundary line of a
nonpublic elementary or secondary school, or in or on a school vehicle.

�

���� 3.� a. Harassment or bullying,
including cyberbullying, of a student enrolled in a nonpublic school by another
student or students enrolled in a nonpublic school on school property or at a
school function shall be prohibited.�

���� b.� Upon a report of an
incident of harassment or bullying against a student enrolled in a nonpublic
school, the principal or chief school administrator of the nonpublic school, or
a designee, shall promptly investigate the incident.� The principal or chief
school administrator of the nonpublic school, or a designee, shall document the
findings of the investigation within five school days after the completion of
the investigation.� The principal or chief school administrator of the
nonpublic school, or designee, shall communicate the findings of the
investigation with the victim in an age-appropriate manner and take immediate
and appropriate action to ensure that any confirmed harassment or bullying is
stopped to ensure the safety of the victim.� �The principal or chief school
administrator of the nonpublic school, or designee, shall take appropriate
action to ensure the safety of any individual who in good faith reports an
incident of harassment or bullying or assists in the investigation of an
incident of harassment or bullying.�

���� c.� Each nonpublic school
shall adopt an anti-harassment and bullying policy, which shall be written in
plain language and published on the school�s Internet website or internal
parent and student portal.� The policy shall be shared annually with employees
of the nonpublic school and each enrolled student and their parents or
guardians.� The policy shall include, but not be limited to, information on:

���� (1) the definition of
harassment or bullying, as provided in section 1 of this act;

���� (2) the process for reporting,
investigating, and documenting an alleged incident of harassment or bullying;
and

���� (3) an age-appropriate process
for notifying the victim about the outcome of any investigation of an alleged
incident.�

���� d.� Any nonpublic school
employee who witnesses an incident of harassment or bullying, or receives an
oral or written report of harassment or bullying, shall promptly notify the
principal or chief school administrator of the nonpublic school, or designee,
orally not later than one school day after the school employee witnesses or
receives a report of bullying or harassment, and shall file a written report
with the principal or head of school, or designee, within two school days.

���� 4.�
Nothing in this act shall be construed to infringe upon any right to exercise free expression or the free exercise of religion or religiously-based views protected under the First� Amendment� to the� United� States� Constitution and Article I of the New Jersey Constitution.

���� 5. This act shall take effect
on the first day of the fourth month beginning after the date of enactment.�

STATEMENT

���� This bill, titled the �Jack
Reid Law: Protect All Students Act,� prohibits bullying of nonpublic school
students and requires each nonpublic school to adopt an anti-harassment and
bullying policy.�

���� Under
the bill, harassment or bullying, including cyberbullying, of a nonpublic
school student by another student or students enrolled in a nonpublic school on
school property or at a school function is prohibited.�

���� The bill provides that upon a
report of an incident of harassment or bullying against a student enrolled in a
nonpublic school, the principal or chief school administrator of the nonpublic
school, or a designee, will promptly investigate the incident.� The principal
or chief school administrator, or a designee, will communicate the findings of
the investigation with the victim and take immediate and appropriate action to
ensure that any confirmed harassment or bullying is stopped to ensure the
safety of the victim.� The bill requires the principal or chief school administrator
of the nonpublic school, or designee, to take appropriate action to ensure the
safety of any individual who in good faith reports an incident of harassment or
bullying or assists in the investigation of an incident of harassment or
bullying.

���� The bill further requires each
nonpublic school to adopt an anti-harassment and bullying policy, which is to
be written in plain language and published on the school�s website or internal
parent and student portal.� The policy is required to be shared annually with
employees of the nonpublic school and each enrolled student and their parents
or guardians.�

���� Under the bill, the policy is
required to include, at a minimum, information on:

���� (1) the definition of
harassment or bullying;

���� (2) the process for reporting,
investigating, and documenting an alleged incident of harassment or bullying;
and

���� (3) an age-appropriate process
for notifying the victim about the outcome of any investigation of an alleged
incident.�

���� Finally, the bill requires any
nonpublic school employee who witnesses an incident of harassment or bullying,
or receives an oral or written report of harassment or bullying, to promptly
notify the principal or chief school administrator of the school, or designee,
orally not later than one school day after the school employee witnesses or
receives a report of harassment or bullying, and to file a written report with
the principal or chief school administrator, or designee, within two school
days.����

���� The bill clarifies that its
provisions are not to be
construed to infringe
upon any right to exercise free expression or the free exercise of religion or
religiously-based views protected under the First� Amendment� to the� United�
States� Constitution and Article I of the New Jersey Constitution.

���� This bill establishes
requirements for nonpublic schools relating to bullying of students that are
separate from those already established for public schools.� Under current
State law, each public school is required to abide by the provisions of the "Anti-Bullying
Bill of Rights Act."� While nonpublic schools are encouraged in State law
to comply with the provisions of that act, they are not required to do so.