NJ Legislation Affecting Lyme in Schools

The Lyme Disease Association, Inc. (LDA) has provided in-service training to NJ school districts since 1992. The LDA has been a registered Professional Development Provider for the State of NJ since the year 2000, providing development in the area of Lyme and other tick-borne diseases. LDA has a number of resource people who help develop the material which LDA uses and distributes. All materials and presentations are free.

LDA (when it was LDANJ) helped to develop and pass the law which developed a state adopted curriculum for use in NJ schools and requires NJ school districts to annually in-service any staff member who has a student with Lyme disease.

LDA has also provided training to a number of other state school districts.

The Lyme Disease Association of New Jersey, now LDA, was successful in 1992 in having the following laws adopted in New Jersey.

18A:35-5.1. Lyme Disease curriculum guidelines
1. The Commissioner of Education, in consultation with the Commissioner of Health, shall develop curriculum guidelines for the teaching of information on the prevention of Lyme Disease within the public school health curriculum. The guidelines shall emphasize disease prevention and sensitivity for victims of the disease. The Commissioner of Education shall periodically review and update the guidelines to insure that the curriculum reflects the most current information available.

18A:35-5.2. Availability of guidelines
2. The commissioner shall make the curriculum guidelines available to all school districts in the State and shall encourage their adoption by those districts which are located in areas of the State which have a high incidence of Lyme Disease.

18A:35-5.3. Guidelines for, training of teachers instructing infected students
3. The Commissioner of Education, in consultation with the Commissioner of Health, shall also provide curriculum guidelines for the training of all teachers who instruct students with Lyme disease which emphasizes the special needs and problems of students with the disease, in order to provide information about how best to teach those students. Each school district shall annually provide training to all teachers who instruct students with Lyme disease, based upon the guidelines.

26:2P-2. Governor’s Lyme Disease Advisory Council
2. There is created a 13-member “Governor’s Lyme Disease Advisory Council.” The council shall consist of: the Commissioners of the Departments of Environmental Protection, Health and Education, or their designees, who shall serve ex officio; and 10 public members who by virtue of education or experience are knowledgeable about the problems of Lyme disease, six to be appointed by the Governor, at least one of whom shall be a physician and at least one of whom shall be a veterinarian, two to be appointed by the President of the Senate and two to be appointed by the Speaker of the General Assembly.

The public members shall serve for three-year terms or until a successor is appointed; but of the members initially appointed, five shall serve for a term of three years and five shall serve for a term of two years.

Vacancies in the membership of the council shall be filled in the same manner as the original appointments are made and a member may be eligible for reappointment. Vacancies occurring other than by expiration of a term shall be filled for the unexpired term.

The members of the council shall serve without compensation but shall be reimbursed for traveling and other miscellaneous expenses necessary to perform their duties, within the limits of funds appropriated or otherwise made available to the council for its purposes. L.1991,c.277,s.2.

NJ 2010 Core Curriculum Content Standard

Diseases & Health Conditions

“3. Compare and contrast diseases and health conditions prevalent in adolescents, including asthma, obesity, diabetes, Lyme disease, STDs, and HIV/AIDS.”

Core Curriculum Content Standards for Comprehensive Health and Physical Education Grade 6 Teen Health Course 1 © 2005