BURZICHELLI BILL TO GIVE SCHOOLS ACCESS TO STUDENTS' CRIMINAL RECORDS APPROVED BY SENATE

BURZICHELLI BILL TO GIVE SCHOOLS ACCESS
TO STUDENTS' CRIMINAL RECORDS APPROVED BY SENATE

Measure Would Permit School Administrators Access
To Adult Students' Criminal Histories when They Commit a Crime

(TRENTON) - Assembly-approved legislation Assemblyman John J. Burzichelli sponsored to give high school administrators access to adult students' criminal histories was approved today by the Senate.

Burzichelli (D-Gloucester) said he drafted the legislation after learning about the case of a 19-year-old Glassboro High School senior who transferred into the district prior to the 2007-2008 academic year.

In April 2007, while a student at A.P. Schalick High School in neighboring Pittsgrove, the young man was arrested and accused of raping a 15-year-old girl.  In March, he pled guilty to a lesser offense.  At the time of his transfer, school officials had no knowledge of his arrest.

"It is absolutely inconceivable that adult students with arrest records are able to move from school to school without anyone knowing about their illegal activities," said Burzichelli.  "Administrators and educators need to know when students are arriving in their classrooms carrying dangerous criminal baggage."

The measure was approved by the Assembly last year. It was approved XX by the Senate today and now goes to the governor.

Burzichelli's bill (A-2655) would require high school principals be made aware when any high school student 18 or older is charged with certain criminal offenses. 

Specifically, the measure would require administrative notification if an adult student commits a crime that:

• Results in death or serious injury or involved an attempt to cause death or serious injury;
• Involves the unlawful use or possession of a firearm or other weapon;
• Involves the unlawful manufacture, distribution, or possession with the intent to distribute a controlled dangerous substance;
• Constitutes a bias or hate crime; or
• Is classified as a crime of the first through third degree.

The measure also is sponsored by Assemblywoman Sandi Love (D-Gloucester) and Pamela Lampitt (D-Camden).

Under the bill, school administrators would be required to be informed if an adult student is charged with any offense that occurs on school property, a school bus, a school-sponsored function, or is committed against an employee or official of the school.

Additionally, when an adult student transfers to a new school, the previous school district would be required to provide the student's criminal record, if any, to the new school.

Currently, these requirements only apply to students who also are minors.

"We have an obligation to ensure that, in the future, schools receive the whole picture on the students they are educating," said Burzichelli.  "The loopholes and legal oversights that allowed an accused rapist to freely roam the halls of a new school must be forever closed."
 
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