Sponsored by:

Assemblyman ANGEL FUENTES

District 5 (Camden and Gloucester)

Assemblyman PATRICK J. DIEGNAN, JR.

District 18 (Middlesex)

Assemblywoman SHAVONDA E. SUMTER

District 35 (Bergen and Passaic)

Co-Sponsored by:

Assemblyman Greenwald

SYNOPSIS

Authorizes establishment of three pilot recovery alternative high schools that provide high school education and substance dependency plan of recovery to test the effectiveness of this model.

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

As reported by the Assembly Education Committee on May 11, 2015, with amendments.

An Act concerning the establishment of ¹[a]¹ pilot recovery ¹alternative¹ high ¹[school] schools¹ 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 "Recovery ¹Alternative¹ High School Act."

2. As used in this act:

"Recovery ¹Alternative¹ High School" means ¹[a public school] an alternative education program pursuant to N.J.A.C.6A:16-1.3¹ that serves students diagnosed with substance use disorder or dependency as defined by the most recent Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, and that provides ¹[both]¹ a comprehensive four-year high school education ¹in an alternative public school setting¹ and a structured plan of recovery.

"Sending district" means the district where the student attending or planning to attend the recovery ¹alternative¹ high school resides, and that, upon the recommendation of an alcohol and drug counselor certified pursuant to P.L.1997, c.331 (C.45:2D-1 et seq.) ¹and of its board of education¹, refers the student for enrollment in the recovery ¹alternative¹ high school ¹because the student would academically and clinically benefit from placement in the alternative education program¹.

3. a. The Commissioner of Education is authorized to ¹[create a] permit three¹ pilot recovery ¹alternative¹ high ¹[school] schools, one each in the northern, central, and southern regions of the State, to be established by school districts or county vocational school districts¹ for the purpose of demonstrating the effectiveness of the recovery ¹alternative¹ high school model in New Jersey. The commissioner shall issue a request for proposals to operate ¹[the] a¹ pilot recovery ¹alternative¹ high school. ¹The proposal shall detail how the district will satisfy the criteria for an alternative education program pursuant to N.J.A.C.6A:16-9.2, and how the recovery alternative high school will satisfy the requirements for accreditation by the Association of Recovery Schools.¹ A proposal shall be submitted to the commissioner no later than December 1 of the school year prior to the school year in which the recovery ¹alternative¹ high school is to begin operation. ¹[The approval of the State Board of Education shall be required in order for the recovery high school to begin operation.]¹

b. ¹[By approval of the proposal upon the recommendation of the commissioner, the State board shall be deemed to have authorized all necessary equivalencies and waivers of regulations enumerated in the proposal.

c. After two years of operation,] A pilot recovery alternative high school shall be authorized for a period not to exceed four years. Annually the school district or county vocational school district, in consultation with¹ the pilot recovery ¹alternative¹ high school ¹,¹ shall submit to the commissioner an analysis of the recovery ¹alternative¹ high school's educational outcomes including, but not limited to, student graduation rates, retention rates, course performance, and performance on the State assessments.

4. ¹[a. Any school district in the State that has] A sending district may enter into an agreement with a district which has established a recovery alternative high school for the provision of services to¹ a student who is currently enrolled ¹[or resides in the municipality in which the district is located] in the sending district¹ and who the ¹sending¹ district considers to be both clinically and academically appropriate for referral to the recovery ¹alternative¹ high school ¹[may refer that student for voluntary enrollment in the school]¹. If the student is admitted to the recovery ¹alternative¹ high school, the sending district shall ¹[ensure that payment for the student is made in accordance with the provisions of subsection b. of this section, and that upon completion of all State and local graduation requirements the student receives a State-endorsed high school diploma.

b. (1) A sending district shall pay directly to the recovery high school for each student attending the high school who meets the criteria of paragraph (2) of this subsection an amount equal to 100% of the sum of the budget year equalization aid per pupil, adjustment aid per pupil, and the prebudget year general fund tax levy per pupil inflated by the CPI rate most recent to the calculation. In addition, the sending district shall pay directly to the recovery high school the security categorical aid attributable to the student and a percentage of the district's special education categorical aid equal to the percentage of the district's special education students enrolled in the recovery high school. The district shall also pay directly to the recovery high school any federal funds directly attributable to the student.

(2) A sending district shall pay the amount required pursuant to paragraph (1) of this subsection for each student who:

(a) is currently enrolled in the district or currently resides in the municipality in which the district is located;

(b) is considered by a certified alcohol and drug counselor to be clinically appropriate, using the criteria for substance use disorders as defined in the most recent Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders; and

(c) meets all matriculation criteria as outlined by the sending district and the Department of Education. The determination of academic eligibility shall be based on existing documentation provided by the district.

c. The recovery high school shall submit to the State board the academic data considered necessary by the State board to provide information regarding each student's academic performance, subject to applicable health confidentiality laws and regulations] pay tuition to that district calculated in accordance with the provisions of N.J.S.18A:38-19¹.

5. The State Board of Education, in consultation with the Department of Health, shall adopt regulations pursuant to the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), to effectuate the purposes of this act.

6. This act shall take effect immediately.