NJ Child Assault Prevention

Governor Christie today signed legislation sponsored by Assembly Republican members Anthony M. Bucco and Mary Pat Angelini that requires school districts to include information about dating violence in their curriculum.

The bill, A-2920, directs the Department of Education (DOE) to develop a school district dating violence policy and requires districts to provide dating violence education in a school's health curriculum.

"Dating violence is a serious problem among our youth and young adults that continues to be ignored by the media, parents and schools," stated Bucco, R-Morris. "We're all familiar with the saying, 'An ounce of prevention is worth a cure.' In this case, it can save lives.

"Most kids have no idea when they are being verbally or emotionally abused," he continued. "They need to learn what a healthy relationship is and is not."

The curriculum, Bucco said, will teach teens how to get help if they are a target of dating abuse, and will also focus on developing healthy dating relationships, how to help friends in abusive relationships, and encourages parents to get involved and be aware of what is going on in their child's life.

"Our goal is to prevent dating violence before it begins and this new law gives all parties involved the tools they need to accomplish that," added Bucco. The bill is the fifth piece of legislation the freshman legislator has had signed into law.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), a nationwide survey of students in grades 9-12 shows that nearly one in 10 students reported being hit or physically hurt on purpose by a boyfriend or girlfriend at least once in the past 12 months.

"One in 3 teens will be in an abusive dating relationship before the end of high school. That's alarming," said Angelini, R-Monmouth. "The fact that parents are usually the last to discover their son or daughter is in such a relationship is very problematic and indicates that both teens and their parents need to be better educated on this issue.

"While parents must ultimately take responsibility for protecting their children by paying close attention to their behavior and engaging them in communication, legislators also have a responsibility to protect the public safety. With various studies showing a high incidence of dating violence among our youth, this law is common sense legislation that will help protect our children."

The bill, A-2920, requires the DOE to establish a task force to develop a policy to address incidents of dating violence involving students on school property, school vehicles/bus stops or at any school-sponsored activity on or off school grounds. Each school district must implement the policy developed by the task force, which must contain, at a minimum, the following components:

* a statement that dating violence will not be tolerated;

* dating violence reporting procedures;

* guidelines for responding to at-school incidents of dating violence;

* discipline procedures specific to at-school incidents of dating violence;

* warning signs of dating violence; and

* information on safe, appropriate school, family, peer and community resources available to address dating violence.

Bucco noted that schools will not incur any costs as a result of making dating violence education a requirement since the curriculum already exists. Under current law, a board of education may include instruction on the problems of domestic and dating violence and child abuse in the curriculum of elementary, middle, and high school students.

The legislation also requires boards of education to incorporate dating violence education that is age appropriate into the health education curriculum as part of the district's implementation of the Core Curriculum Content Standards in Comprehensive Health and Physical Education for students in grades 7 through 12. The dating violence education will include information on the definition of dating violence, recognizing dating violence warning signs, and the characteristics of healthy relationships.

The DOE will recommend educational resources on dating violence and will post these materials on its website.

Dating VIolence Bill.pdf

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