WeVote
Log In

Bill

Bill

A 4897

Makes provisions with respect to student awards, loans and tuition assistance programs

2025 Regular Session Introduced by Gary Pretlow

Replaces a fixed hotline on NJ student IDs with a Commissioner-determined mental health and suicide crisis resources contact, printing updated numbers for K-12 and higher-ed IDs.

REFERRED TO HIGHER EDUCATION
0
WeVote Research Nonpartisan
Bill Summary · A 4897

Summary — A4897 (P.L.2025, c.112)

Status: Enacted (Approved July 22, 2025)
Introduced: October 17, 2024 — Primary sponsor: J. Gary Pretlow
Related/companion: S3769

Purpose

A4897 revises New Jersey law to broaden and centralize the contact information that must appear on student identification cards for suicide prevention and mental health crisis help. Instead of requiring a specific hotline (the New Jersey Suicide Prevention Hopeline) and a crisis text line, the law directs schools to print the telephone number for mental health and suicide crisis resources as determined by the Commissioner of Human Services.

Key provisions

  • Amends existing statutes (C.18A:6-113.1 and C.18A:3B-73.1) governing student ID cards for:
    • Public schools that include grades 7–12, and
    • Institutions of higher education that issue student ID cards.
  • Requires that the back of each student identification card include the telephone number for “mental health and suicide crisis resources,” as determined by the Commissioner of Human Services:
    • For K–12 schools: Commissioner of Human Services determines the resource, in consultation with the Commissioner of Education.
    • For institutions of higher education: Commissioner of Human Services determines the resource, in consultation with the Secretary of Higher Education.
  • Permits (but does not require) schools and colleges to additionally print contact information for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, an on‑campus crisis center, or any other mental health support service.
  • Effective date and first application: takes effect immediately; first applies to new and replacement student ID cards issued in the first full school year or academic year, as applicable, following enactment.

Who is affected

  • Public school districts that serve grades 7–12 that issue student ID cards.
  • Institutions of higher education in New Jersey that issue student ID cards.
  • Commissioner of Human Services (responsible for specifying the telephone number(s) to be printed), in consultation with education officials.
  • Students and school/employer staff who use ID cards as sources of contact information for crisis help.

Implementation and fiscal notes

  • The bill gives the Commissioner of Human Services authority to designate the appropriate telephone contact(s), allowing the State to update or change the crisis resource information centrally without amending statute.
  • The Senate committee reported the bill as not certified to require a fiscal note, indicating no identified significant state cost from enactment.

Impact summary

A4897 modernizes and centralizes suicide prevention contact information on student ID cards by replacing a named hotline/text line requirement with a flexible, Commissioner‑designated “mental health and suicide crisis resources” contact. This increases administrative flexibility to ensure up‑to‑date crisis contact information appears on student IDs across middle/high schools and colleges.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

Sign in to ask a question.