Published Online: January 30, 2012
By The Associated Press
Premium article access courtesy of Edweek.org.
Trenton, N.J.
A little-known New Jersey state government council ruled Friday that New Jersey's tough new anti-bullying law constitutes an unfunded mandate for local school districts and must be changed for the law to remain in effect.
The Council on Local Mandates ruled 7-2 that the year-old law requires local school districts to provide training and personnel but doesn't pay for them. The council was created in response to a 1995 amendment to the state constitution that prohibits the state from passing laws that raise costs for local government—unless it provides funding for them.
The ruling takes effect in March after the council releases its formal ruling.
Steven Goldstein, the chairman of Garden State Equality, a gay rights group that pushed for the year-old law, said lawmakers could make changes quickly to keep the law in force. And he said it might be possible to update the law in such a way that complies with Friday's ruling without spending more state money.
"Legislators, advocates, all of us are quickly swinging into action to meet the council's decision," he said Friday evening.
He said the fix might be as simple as adding language to the bullying law to say that it's required to provide a "thorough and efficient" education as required by the state constitution.
Gov. Chris Christie signed the law last January. Though it had been months in the making, lawmakers sped its passage after the high-profile suicide of Rutgers student Tyler Clementi. The 18-year-old killed himself after his roommate allegedly used a webcam to spy on Clementi's intimate dorm room encounter with another man in September 2010. The roommate, Dharun Ravi, says he is not guilty. He faces a trial starting in late February.
Advocates say the bullying law, which passed with bipartisan support, is the toughest in the nation.
It requires local school districts to have anti-bullying policies and to report incidents to the state government.
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It was challenged by the Board of Education in rural northwest New Jersey's Warren County's Allamuchy Township. The district of 427 students said the law would require costs this year of $6,000 to train educators—with more costs in the future.
Some other districts filed papers supporting Allamuchy. Several school officials have complained that the law is costly to them.
Marie Bilik, the executive director of the New Jersey School Boards Association describes the anti-bullying law as "well-intentioned" but says that it required more work before it took effect at the start of the current school year.
She said the group would like to help the state come up with a method that would provide "adequate financial support."
And state Sen. Loretta Weinberg, a Democrat from Teaneck who was a main sponsor of the law, said she hoped school districts would continue following the requirements of the law while the changes are worked out.
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