N.J. bill targets dating violence
"Our goal is to prevent dating abuse . . . through early education," an Assembly sponsor said.
TRENTON - New Jersey school districts may soon have to incorporate age-appropriate dating-violence education into their middle and high school curriculums.
The mandate, part of legislation that was approved earlier this month by a state Assembly panel, also would require that faculty and certain staff members be trained to recognize and handle dating violence among students.
And the state Department of Education would have to establish a task force to develop a policy to prevent and address dating violence at schools.
That policy would have to contain, at a minimum, a statement that dating violence will not be tolerated. It also would have to include details on reporting procedures, guidelines for responding to at-school incidents, and specific discipline procedures.
According to the National Teen Dating Violence Prevention Project, about 1.5 million high school students nationwide experience some type of physical abuse from a dating partner in a single year.
"Teen dating violence is hurting and killing innocent children in our communities and homes," said Assemblyman David Wolfe (R., Brick), who is among the bipartisan bill's five primary sponsors. "It's a growing public-health issue. It's a silent epidemic that is largely ignored by parents, schools, and the media. Our goal is to prevent dating abuse before it begins, through early education of both students and faculty."
The Assembly's Education Committee released the bill Sept. 16, and it now heads to the full Assembly. A vote has not yet been scheduled. Besides Wolfe, the bill is sponsored by Democrat Joan Voss of Fort Lee and Republicans James Holzapfel of Toms River, Anthony Bucco of Boonton, and Mary Pat Angelini of Ocean Township.
An identical measure has been introduced in the Senate by Andrew Ciesla (R., Ocean).
"It's important that we empower our students to recognize the warning signs and understand that this is not normal or acceptable behavior," said Voss, a retired educator. "Hopefully, this bill will go a long way toward preventing any unnecessary tragedies."
If approved, the dating-violence education would be incorporated into the health-education curriculum for students in grades seven through 12.
It would include information on the definition of dating violence, recognizing warning signs, and the characteristics of healthy relationships.
The bill also requires the state Education Department to post training materials pertaining to dating violence on its website. Each district would then provide that information to teachers and other staff members who have significant contact with students.
The training materials would include information on school, family, peer, and community resources available to address dating violence.