4 New N.J. School Safety Laws You Need To Know About

Still worry about your kids once they leave for school in the morning?

With increasing concerns regarding violence and terrorism, state officials say they’ve taken some measures to help keep students safe.

The measures deal with sexual assault, allergies and other issues that could impact students once they enter the school doors.

Gov. Chris Christie recently signed these four laws that could apply to you:

A-4094/S-2884 (Conaway, Singleton, Wimberly, Lampitt, Benson/Whelan, Madden) - Permits administration of epinephrine auto-injector device [EpiPens] by people who complete approved educational program.

Epinephrine, a self-injectable adrenaline medication, is the first-line treatment for severe or life-threatening allergic reactions, such as anaphylaxis, according to state health officials. Epinephrine is a highly effective medication that can reverse severe symptoms.

However, it must be administered promptly during anaphylaxis to be most effective. Delayed use of epinephrine during an anaphylactic reaction has been associated with deaths, according to officials.

A-1455/S-2011 (Diegnan, Mosquera, Caputo, Jasey, Mukherji/Madden, Holzapfel) - Abigail’s Law; requires that newly-manufactured school buses be equipped with sensors.

Since the death of a 22-month-old toddler in South Plainfield in 2003, lawmakers have worked to enact “Abigail’s Law.”

The legislation is named for the 2-year-old daughter of a Middlesex County first assistant prosecutor who was killed in 2003 when she followed her mother outside and stood in front of a school bus. The driver didn’t see the child from the driver’s seat, then moved forward and struck the girl, state officials said.

S-3243/A-4702 (Vitale, Greenstein/Vainieri Huttle, Spencer) - Provides that if a minor appears to have been sexually assaulted, health care professionals - in addition to physicians - may authorize forensic sexual assault examination and medical care without parental consent.

S-1687/A-4924 (Ruiz, Vitale/Diegnan, Eustace) - Permits students made homeless by act of terrorism or natural disaster to attend, tuition-free, the school district in which they resided prior to being homeless for two school years.