Legislation Cleared by Full Senate; Heads to Governor’s Desk
Continuing state efforts to combat child abuse in New Jersey, Assemblywomen Pamela Lampitt, Valerie Vainieri Huttle and Patricia Egan Jones released the following statements on their bill (A-4405) to require child and sexual abuse training for all candidates for teaching certification. The measure was approved by the full Senate on Monday by a vote of 35-0, and passed the Assembly in February, 76-0-4.
Assemblywoman Lampitt (D-Camden, Burlington): “In order to get closer to our goal of ending child abuse in New Jersey, we must ensure all teachers are trained to identify troubling situations and respond appropriately. Students working towards becoming teachers must fully understand how to recognize child and sexual abuse, and that awareness should begin before they enter the classroom. By including this training as part of teacher certification, we emphasize the importance of this issue in our state.”
Assemblywoman Vainieri Huttle (D-Bergen): “When we send our children off to school each day, we trust that they will be safe. Our teachers are on the front lines and have the ability to spot the signs that a child might be in danger. By ensuring our teachers have the proper training to identify the warning signs, we can help keep our children safe and make a big difference in a child’s life.”
Assemblywoman Egan Jones (Camden, Gloucester): “Part of being a teacher is being an advocate for students. Unfortunately, sometimes that means reporting incidents of abuse. It’s imperative that teaching candidates are prepared to handle these situations. The more incidents we can bring to light, the more children will be brought to safety.”