New Jersey — school discipline
- The lines the state draws
- At ten consecutive school days, and the regulation states each side in the same form. Short-term: the board "shall assure the rights of a student suspended for one, but not more than 10 consecutive school days, by providing for the following:" — then five requirements. (N.J.A.C. 6A:16-7.2(a)) Long-term: the board "shall assure the rights of a student suspended for more than 10 consecutive school days by providing the following:" — then thirteen. (N.J.A.C. 6A:16-7.3(a)) A separate limit runs on the calendar rather than the day count: "Suspension of a general education student shall not be continued beyond the district board of education's second regularly scheduled meeting following the suspension, unless the district board of education so determines, pursuant to N.J.S.A. 18A:37-5." (N.J.A.C. 6A:16-7.3(c)) Expulsion is available only after the long-term procedure has been given, and only with a program attached: a board may expel "only after the district board of education has provided" the due process rights of the long-term route and "An appropriate educational program or service". (N.J.A.C. 6A:16-7.4(a))
- Offices and appeal bodies in these sources
- The district board of education decides, and — unlike several states in this layer — the appeal runs to a named state officer. On a short-term suspension: "An appeal of the district board of education's decision affecting the general education student's educational program shall be made to the Commissioner, in accordance with N.J.S.A. 18A:37-2.4 and N.J.A.C. 6A:3-1.3 through 1.17." (N.J.A.C. 6A:16-7.2(c)) The long-term subsection states the same route, and the written decision must itself tell the parent about it, among six required contents: "The right to appeal to the Commissioner the district board of education's decision regarding the student's general education program". (N.J.A.C. 6A:16-7.3(a)11vi, (b)) On expulsion the appeal is to the Commissioner as well, and the schooling does not stop while it runs: "A district board of education shall continue to provide an appropriate educational program or service in accordance with (a)2 above until a final determination has been made on the appeal of the district board of education's action to expel a student." (N.J.A.C. 6A:16-7.4(b), (b)1)
No telephone number or email address for the Commissioner's office, and no other state contact for parents, appears in the sources reviewed. That absence is the finding. - Sources last checked
- Oct 17, 2026
Reproduced from the state's own regulations quoted below: potentially relevant official sources, not a determination of which one governs any situation.
This page assembles what New Jersey publishes in its administrative code about K-12 school discipline: who may suspend or expel a student and how, the notice and hearing the code requires, what continues during an exclusion, where the appeal routes run, and, because the code assigns much of the detail to each district, a map of the questions answered only in a district's own code of student conduct. The fullest single statement is N.J.A.C. 6A:16, Subchapter 7 (Student Conduct), within the chapter on Programs to Support Student Development; the Department publishes it as the current code text, with no separate publication date on the chapter's face. New Jersey's own vocabulary appears throughout: the code of student conduct, the district board of education, the chief school administrator, short-term and long-term suspension, and the formal hearing. District codes of conduct add procedural detail this page does not carry; the delegation map below points at exactly those questions. Confirm applicability with the district and the agencies. All dates on this page are quoted from the sources, not a deadline calculation performed for you.
The framework, as the state writes it
The code of student conduct (6A:16-7.1). "Each district board of education shall develop, adopt, disseminate, and implement a code of student conduct that establishes standards, policies, and procedures for positive student development and student behavioral expectations on school grounds and, as appropriate, for conduct away from school grounds." The code must include "A description of students' rights to:" a list of six kinds, among them "Due process appeal procedures and policies", cross-referenced in the code to the Commissioner's own appeal rules and, where applicable, the special-education and short- and long-term suspension provisions elsewhere in this subchapter. (N.J.A.C. 6A:16-7.1(a), (c)3, (c)3v)
Short-term suspensions (6A:16-7.2). The ten-day line and its five requirements are quoted in the docket. Among them: "As soon as practical, oral or written notice of charges to the student." and, "Prior to the suspension, an informal hearing during which the student is given the opportunity to present the student's version of events regarding the student's actions leading to the short-term suspension and is provided notice of the school district's actions taken pursuant to N.J.A.C. 6A:16-7.1(c)2 and 5:" — "The informal hearing shall be conducted by a school administrator or the school administrator's designee;". A safety exception allows the hearing to follow rather than precede removal: "To the extent that a student's presence poses a continuing danger to persons or property or an ongoing threat of disrupting the educational process, the student may be immediately removed from the student's educational program and the informal hearing shall be held as soon as practical after the suspension;". Once decided, "The suspending principal shall immediately report the suspension to the chief school administrator, who shall report it to the district board of education at its next regular meeting, pursuant to N.J.S.A. 18A:37-4." (N.J.A.C. 6A:16-7.2(a)1, (a)2, (a)2i, (a)2ii, (b))
Long-term suspensions (6A:16-7.3). The thirteen requirements are quoted in the docket and in the hoisted rows below. The formal hearing may be run by the board itself or delegated: "Be conducted by the district board of education or delegated by the board to a board committee, a school administrator, or an impartial hearing officer for the purpose of determining facts or making recommendations." Even when delegated, "Before taking final action, the district board of education as a whole shall receive and consider either a transcript or detailed report on the hearing;". (N.J.A.C. 6A:16-7.3(a)10i, (a)10i(1))
Expulsions (6A:16-7.4). Available only after the long-term due-process rights and an educational program have been provided, as quoted in the docket. A student with a disability sits outside this route entirely: "A student with a disability shall only be expelled from the student's current program in accordance with N.J.A.C. 6A:14 and the IDEA, 20 U.S.C. §§ 1400 et seq." (N.J.A.C. 6A:16-7.4(c))
Conduct away from school grounds (6A:16-7.5). New Jersey extends the code of conduct off campus, on conditions: "School authorities have the right to impose a consequence on a student for conduct away from school grounds that is consistent with the district board of education's code of student conduct, pursuant to N.J.A.C. 6A:16-7.1." That authority is bounded: "This authority shall be exercised only when it is reasonably necessary for the student's physical or emotional safety, security and well-being or for reasons relating to the safety, security and well-being of other students, staff or school grounds, pursuant to N.J.S.A. 18A:25-2 and 18A:37-2." and "This authority shall be exercised only when the conduct that is the subject of the proposed consequence materially and substantially interferes with the requirements of appropriate discipline in the operation of the school." (N.J.A.C. 6A:16-7.5(a), (a)1, (a)2)
The published process
- Notice of charges and the hearing right before long-term exclusion
- The long-term route opens with "Notification to the student of the charges prior to the student's removal from school;" and "Prior to the suspension, an informal hearing during which the student is given the opportunity to present the student's version of events regarding the student's actions leading to the long-term suspension and is provided notice of the school district's actions taken pursuant to N.J.A.C. 6A:16-7.1(c)2 and 5;". Within two school days the parents receive more: "Written notification to the parents by the chief school administrator or the chief school administrator's designee within two school days of the initiation of the suspension, stating:" the specific charges, the facts on which they are based, and the student's due process rights. The formal hearing itself must "Include the opportunity for the student to:" "Confront and cross-examine witnesses if there is a question of fact; and" "Present the student's own defense, and produce oral testimony or written supporting affidavits;" and must "Take place no later than 30 calendar days following the day the student is suspended from the general education program". The board's decision "shall be based, at a minimum, on the preponderance of competent and credible evidence". (N.J.A.C. 6A:16-7.3(a)1, (a)2, (a)5, (a)5i, (a)5ii, (a)10ii, (a)10ii(1), (a)10ii(2), (a)10iii, (a)10iv)
- Services during exclusion
- On a short suspension the board must provide "Academic instruction either in school or out of school that addresses the New Jersey Student Learning Standards.", due "within five school days of the suspension." For a student with a disability the same instruction "shall be provided consistent with N.J.A.C. 6A:14." On a long suspension the requirement is comparability: "Either in- or out-of-school educational services that are comparable to those provided in the public schools for students of similar grades and attainments, pursuant to N.J.S.A. 18A:38-25", also due within five school days, with the district's programming choice guided by "A behavioral assessment or evaluation including, but not limited to, a referral to the child study team, as appropriate", the student's records, and "Considerations of parental input". (N.J.A.C. 6A:16-7.2(a)5, (a)5i, (a)5iii, 6A:16-7.3(a)9, (a)9i, (a)9ii(1), (a)9ii(5))
- The record made and the appeal route, forum by forum
- At every length the forum is the same: the Commissioner. On a short-term suspension, "An appeal of the district board of education's decision affecting the general education student's educational program shall be made to the Commissioner, in accordance with N.J.S.A. 18A:37-2.4 and N.J.A.C. 6A:3-1.3 through 1.17." On a long-term suspension, the board's written decision must include "The charges considered;", "A summary of the documentary or testimonial evidence from both the student and the administration that was brought before the district board of education at the hearing;", "Factual findings relative to each charge and the district board of education's determination of each charge;", and "The right to appeal to the Commissioner the district board of education's decision regarding the student's general education program", and "An appeal of the district board of education's decision regarding the general education student's program shall be made to the Commissioner, in accordance with N.J.S.A. 18A:37-2.4 and N.J.A.C. 6A:3-1.3 through 1.17." If the finding goes the student's way, "If at any time it is found that the student did not commit the offense, the student shall be immediately returned to the program from which the student was removed". On an expulsion, the appeal is again to the Commissioner, and the schooling continues: "A district board of education shall continue to provide an appropriate educational program or service in accordance with (a)2 above until a final determination has been made on the appeal of the district board of education's action to expel a student." (N.J.A.C. 6A:16-7.2(c), 7.3(a)11, (a)11i, (a)11ii, (a)11iii, (a)11vi, (a)12, (b), 7.4(b), (b)1)
- If the student has an IEP or Section 504 plan
- The disability layer lives on this site's New Jersey special education page. The discipline code itself states: "For a student with a disability who receives a long-term suspension, the district board of education shall proceed in accordance with N.J.A.C. 6A:14 and the IDEA, 20 U.S.C. §§ 1400 et seq., in determining or changing the student's educational placement to an interim or alternate educational setting." and "A student with a disability shall only be expelled from the student's current program in accordance with N.J.A.C. 6A:14 and the IDEA, 20 U.S.C. §§ 1400 et seq." (N.J.A.C. 6A:16-7.3(g), 7.4(c))
The four rows above answer the questions an experienced adviser raises first, from the state's own regulations, or record that a question is not answered in them.
Timelines, as stated in the sources
All quoted; none calculated. From N.J.A.C. 6A:16, Subchapter 7 as retrieved Sep 2, 2026.
On parent notification of a short-term suspension: "prior to the end of the school day on which the school administrator decides to suspend the student." (N.J.A.C. 6A:16-7.2(a)3)
On academic instruction after a short-term suspension: "within five school days of the suspension." (N.J.A.C. 6A:16-7.2(a)5i)
On written parent notification of a long-term suspension: "within two school days of the initiation of the suspension". (N.J.A.C. 6A:16-7.3(a)5)
On the witness list before a formal hearing: "no later than five days prior to the formal hearing". (N.J.A.C. 6A:16-7.3(a)6)
On educational services after a long-term suspension: "within five school days of the suspension." (N.J.A.C. 6A:16-7.3(a)9i)
On the formal hearing itself: "no later than 30 calendar days following the day the student is suspended from the general education program". (N.J.A.C. 6A:16-7.3(a)10iii)
On the written decision after a formal hearing: "within five school days after the close of the hearing." (N.J.A.C. 6A:16-7.3(a)11)
On how long a suspension may run without further board action: "shall not be continued beyond the district board of education's second regularly scheduled meeting following the suspension, unless the district board of education so determines". (N.J.A.C. 6A:16-7.3(c))
On a disciplinary record following a student to a new public school district: "within two weeks of the date the student enrolls in the receiving school district." (N.J.A.C. 6A:16-7.9(a)1)
On the window for filing an appeal to the Commissioner: not stated in this subchapter. The appeal provisions cross-reference N.J.A.C. 6A:3-1.3 through 1.17, the Commissioner's own procedural rules, which are not captured in this page's sources; that gap is recorded in the source map.
What any of this means for a particular situation is for the agency and its processes to determine.
Assigned to district policy by the quoted provision
The code writes the frame and expressly hands the detail to each district board of education. Each entry below is a question a district's own documents answer, with the delegating text quoted. No district's code of conduct is captured or quoted here.
The code of student conduct itself. "Each district board of education shall develop, adopt, disseminate, and implement a code of student conduct that establishes standards, policies, and procedures for positive student development and student behavioral expectations on school grounds and, as appropriate, for conduct away from school grounds." (N.J.A.C. 6A:16-7.1(a))
Keeping the code current. "The district board of education shall establish a process for the annual review and update of the code of student conduct." (N.J.A.C. 6A:16-7.1(a)2)
The list of legal resources the long-term route promises. The long-term suspension notice must include "Information on the student's right to secure an attorney and legal resources available in the community identified pursuant to N.J.A.C. 6A:16-7.1(c)7", and it is the code of conduct that does the identifying: the code must contain "A current list of community-based health and social service provider agencies available to support a student and the student's family, as appropriate, and a list of legal resources available to serve the community." (N.J.A.C. 6A:16-7.3(a)8, 7.1(c)7)
Continuing a suspension when a board meeting is cancelled. "The district board of education shall develop and adopt policies and procedures providing for action on the continuation of student suspensions in the event of cancellation of the first or second regular board meeting pursuant to N.J.S.A. 18A:37-4 and 5." (N.J.A.C. 6A:16-7.3(c)2)
The harassment, intimidation, and bullying policy. "Each district board of education shall develop, adopt, and implement a policy prohibiting harassment, intimidation, or bullying on school grounds, pursuant to N.J.S.A. 18A:37-15." Beyond a short list of required components, "Each district board of education shall have control over the content of the policy". (N.J.A.C. 6A:16-7.7(a), (a)2)
Records access, as stated in the sources
On a transfer between public school districts: "all information in the student's record related to disciplinary actions taken against the student by the school district and any information the school district has obtained pursuant to N.J.S.A. 2A:4A-60, Disclosure of juvenile information; penalties for disclosure, shall be provided to the receiving public school district in accordance with N.J.S.A. 18A:36-19a and N.J.A.C. 6A:32-7.5." That transfer runs on a clock, quoted above, and without a consent requirement: "Written consent of the parent or adult student shall not be required as a condition of the record transfer." though "Written notice of the transfer shall be provided to the parent or the adult student." (N.J.A.C. 6A:16-7.9(a), (a)2, (a)2i)
The same section continues past what this page's capture reaches: N.J.A.C. 6A:16-7.9(b) begins a rule for transfers to private schools, and the capture ends mid-sentence, in the middle of a clause with no punctuation to quote to — the recipe's page scope for this source runs 77 through 114, and 6A:16-7.9(b) through (d) sit on the chapter PDF's next page. Nothing on that page is quoted here because it isn't in the packet. That is a recipe-scope gap rather than a finding about what the state publishes; it is recorded in the source map and the change log for the recipe-backfill queue.
Inspection, correction, and expungement of discipline records: not stated in the portion of the subchapter this page's sources reach (6A:16-7.1 through the captured part of 7.9 were searched); the uncaptured remainder of 7.9 may address it. Federal records rights under FERPA are not restated here.
Source map
| Document | Location | Dates |
|---|---|---|
| N.J.A.C. 6A:16, Subchapter 7 (Student Conduct), within the chapter on Programs to Support Student Development | nj.gov/education | published by the Department as the current chapter text; no publication date on the PDF's face; retrieved Sep 2, 2026 |
| N.J.A.C. 6A:16-7.9(b) through (d) (records access, continued: private-school transfers, non-discrimination on past offenses, FERPA cross-reference) | same PDF, immediately past this source's captured page range | recipe scope ends at page 114 of the chapter PDF; this text is on the next page and is not in the packet — recipe-backfill finding, not source drift |
| N.J.S.A. 18A:37-2, 18A:37-2.4, 18A:37-4, 18A:37-5 (discipline of pupils) | cited throughout the subchapter | the Legislature publishes its statutes through a legacy gateway rather than as citable per-section documents; capture pending |
| N.J.S.A. 18A:38-25 (comparable educational services), cited by 6A:16-7.3(a)9 | cited in the subchapter above | capture pending |
| N.J.A.C. 6A:3-1.3 through 1.17 (appeals to the Commissioner, including the appeal filing window) | cited in the subchapter above | capture pending |
| N.J.A.C. 6A:14 (special education), cited throughout for students with disabilities | cited in the subchapter above | capture pending; the disability layer is carried by this site's New Jersey special education page |
| N.J.A.C. 6A:16-9 and 6A:16-10 (alternative education and home instruction programs) | cited in the subchapter above | capture pending |
| District codes of student conduct | each district board of education, per 6A:16-7.1 | never captured; see the delegation map |
Change log
Sep 2, 2026 · Page deepened to full depth (discipline-layer deepening pass). Re-captured first-party under recipe tools/recipes/new-jersey-discipline.json (digest 68f480af91ae): the recaptured text is byte-identical in substance to the Aug 29, 2026 baseline capture — only the ASSEMBLED and retrieved dates, and an added artifact-hash line in the capture notes, differ — so the source is confirmed unchanged and the standing packet was retained and promoted with a fresh retrieval date rather than a substantive revision. Built out sections 01–02, the timelines block, the district delegation map, and records access, all from material already present in the baseline packet but not yet quoted on the baseline docket page. Findings recorded: (1) the code of conduct itself must state six categories of student rights, including due-process appeal procedures cross-referenced to N.J.A.C. 6A:3, 6A:4, and 6A:14 — none of which this page's sources capture directly; (2) the formal hearing on a long-term suspension may be run by the board itself or delegated to a committee, an administrator, or an impartial hearing officer, but even when delegated the board as a whole must receive and consider a transcript or detailed report before acting; (3) the code extends district authority to conduct away from school grounds, bounded to situations that are reasonably necessary for safety and that materially and substantially interfere with school discipline; (4) the delegation map now carries five entries, including one that ties two provisions together: the long-term suspension notice promises "legal resources available in the community" and it is the code of conduct, under a separate provision, that is required to compile that list; (5) records access is genuinely partial: 6A:16-7.9(a), on transferring disciplinary records between public school districts, is fully captured and quoted, but 6A:16-7.9(b) through (d) — private-school transfers, a bar on using past offenses to discriminate against a student, and a FERPA cross-reference — sit on the chapter PDF's page 115, one page past the recipe's captured range of pages 77 through 114, and the capture ends mid-sentence with no punctuation to quote to; this is recorded as a recipe-scope gap for the recipe-backfill queue, not as a state absence, and the recipe itself was not touched to work around it; (6) no window for filing an appeal to the Commissioner is stated in this subchapter; N.J.A.C. 6A:3-1.3 through 1.17, which the appeal provisions cross-reference, is not captured. Not yet in the source map: N.J.A.C. 6A:16-7.9(b)–(d), the cited N.J.S.A. sections, N.J.A.C. 6A:3-1.3 through 1.17, N.J.A.C. 6A:14, and N.J.A.C. 6A:16-9 and 10, all recorded pending as before. Internet Archive captures: to be added. Reviewer: Carrie Schluter. Corrections on the record in this log: hello@fieldassembly.net.
Aug 29, 2026 · Baseline page created (discipline-layer breadth sprint). Captured first-party under recipe tools/recipes/new-jersey-discipline.json: N.J.A.C. 6A:16, Subchapter 7, from the Department of Education's own current-code PDF, scoped to the subchapter (pages 77 through 114 of the 132-page chapter) so the packet holds the part this page rests on rather than everything bound with it. Findings recorded: (1) in New Jersey the operative discipline procedure is in the administrative code rather than the statute, and the code is published cleanly first-party while the Legislature serves its statutes through a legacy gateway that offers no citable per-section document — so the N.J.S.A. sections the subchapter cites are named here without being reproduced, and their capture is recorded as pending; (2) the appeal runs to a named state officer, the Commissioner, at every length — short-term, long-term, and expulsion — which distinguishes New Jersey from the states in this layer whose appeal routes terminate at a local board; (3) on an appeal of an expulsion the district must keep providing an educational program or service "until a final determination has been made on the appeal", so the schooling does not stop while the appeal runs; (4) schooling is attached to exclusion at both lengths and on a clock, with academic instruction due within five school days of a short-term suspension and comparable in- or out-of-school services required on a long-term one; (5) the long-term route lists thirteen requirements including a witness list five days before the hearing, a manifestation determination for a student with a disability, information on the right to secure an attorney and on legal resources in the community, a hearing within 30 calendar days, a preponderance standard, and a written decision within five school days; (6) a suspension may not continue beyond the board's second regularly scheduled meeting unless the board so determines; (7) the chapter PDF's text layer fuses page numbers into the body text at page breaks ("Short-term suspensions79", "The facts on which the charges are based;80", "7.3; and87"), and these are preserved verbatim and quoted around; (8) no telephone number, email address, or other contact for the Commissioner's office or any state office appears in the subchapter. Internet Archive captures: to be added. Reviewer: Carrie Schluter, reviewed 2026-08-29. Corrections on the record in this log: hello@fieldassembly.net.