1. a. There is established in the Department of Education the New Jersey School Safety Specialist Academy. It shall be the purpose of the academy to serve as a central repository for best practices, training standards, and compliance oversight in all matters regarding school safety and security, including prevention efforts, intervention efforts, and emergency preparedness planning. The academy shall: provide, free of charge, ongoing professional development on national and State best practices, as well as the most current resources on school safety and security; assume a lead role in setting the vision for school safety and security in the State; and provide a coordinated and interdisciplinary approach to providing technical assistance and guidance to schools throughout the State.

b. The academy shall develop and implement a School Safety Specialist Certification Program. A school safety specialist appointed pursuant to section 2 of this act shall be required to acquire the certification. The certification program shall provide training, free of charge, to newly-appointed school safety specialists in the areas of bullying, hazing, truancy, Internet safety, emergency planning, emergency drills, drugs, weapons, gangs and school policing, and any other areas deemed necessary by the academy. The academy shall also offer annual training sessions for certified school safety specialists. The academy shall develop training modules in both traditional and online formats.

L.2017, c.162, s.1.