1. a. A school district and a nonpublic school shall annually conduct a school safety audit for each school building using the checklist developed by the New Jersey Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness in collaboration with the Department of Education pursuant to subsection b. of this section. The school district and the nonpublic school shall submit the completed audit to the New Jersey Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness and the Department of Education. The audits shall be kept confidential and shall not be deemed a public record under P.L.1963, c.73 (C. 47:1A-1 et seq.) or the common law concerning access to public records, but may be utilized for the purposes of allocating any State grants or loans made available for the purpose of school facility safety and security upgrades.

b. The New Jersey Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness in collaboration with the Department of Education shall develop a comprehensive checklist of items to be reviewed and evaluated in the school safety audits conducted by school districts and nonpublic schools pursuant to subsection a. of this section. The checklist shall include items to assess the security features and security vulnerabilities of a school district’s and nonpublic school’s school buildings and grounds. The checklist shall also include items to assess the emergency notification systems used to facilitate notification to parents and other members of the community in the case of school emergencies. The checklist shall be reviewed annually by the New Jersey Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness and the Department of Education and updated as appropriate.

The New Jersey Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness in collaboration with the Department of Education shall provide technical assistance to school districts and nonpublic schools to facilitate the completion of the checklists in a uniform manner.

L.2019, c.478, s.1.