Parents Help Drive Our Education Agenda

By Vin Gopal

The summer break in the state legislature gives us more time to meet with LD11 residents and talk about the things that are important to them.

As the Senate Education Committee chair, my conversations with parents and educators inform the committee’s agenda so we can move forward quickly when the fall legislative session begins in September. Many of these conversations turn to their concerns about keeping their children safe from bullying and harassment in schools, and about drugs.

Every student deserves to feel safe in school. Parents should have confidence that bullying incidents will be addressed. Harassed students should know they will be heard. All schools should have clear procedures for responding when bullying and harassment happen.

That’s why we recently introduced the “Jack Reid Law: Protect All Students Act” in the Senate to require nonpublic schools to adopt and publish clear policies addressing cyberbullying, bullying, and harassment. This legislation would provide nonpublic school students the same protections as public schools are required to provide under the Anti-Bullying Bill of Rights Act.

The legislation is named in honor of Jack Reid, a victim of bullying who died by suicide in April 2022 after experiencing bullying for a year at the boarding school he attended. He was only 17. We worked with Jack’s parents, William and Elizabeth Reid, on this bill, which they say will close a real gap in protection for more than 200,000 New Jersey students attending nonpublic schools with no legal protection against bullying.

Our bill calls for the principal or chief school administrator to promptly investigate an incident, report their findings to the victim, and take appropriate action to stop any confirmed harassment or bullying, and ensure the safety of the victim.

Meanwhile, my LD11 partners, Assemblywomen Margie Donlon and Luanne Peterpaul, joined me in reaching out to county commissioners in other counties to financially support the Tigger Stavola Foundation’s work to educate youth about the dangers of substance use. Tigger’s parents, Rick and Lisa Stavola, started the Tigger Stavola Foundation. The Monmouth County-based foundation does great work to support schools in the fight against addiction, spread awareness, and save lives in honor of their son Richard “Tigger” Stavola, Jr., who died of an accidental drug overdose in 2013 at the age of 25.

We have partnered with TSF on many occasions and they are doing incredible work to educate youth about the dangers of substance use. TSF offers an impressive portfolio of vetted motivational speakers and reinforcement materials accessible via resource cards with QR codes that provide the tools to keep the prevention conversation going at home. Demand for the Tigger Stavola Foundation’s programming has spread quickly through Monmouth County, and its momentum is growing across New Jersey. TSF now partners with schools in 18 counties, and has reached more than 170,000 students across the state with its presentations.

Addressing student bullying and harassment in nonpublic schools and supporting efforts by organizations such as the Tigger Stavola Foundation are part of our ongoing efforts to make New Jersey safer, more equitable and more affordable for all residents. We hope parents never hesitate to contact us at SenGopal@njleg.org, AswDonlon@njleg.org, AswPeterpaul@njleg.org, or (732) 704-3808 with their concerns and ideas.