Legislation signed into law by Gov. Phil Murphy on Thursday will require school districts to provide instruction on grief as part of the New Jersey Student Learning Standards in Comprehensive Health and Physical Education.
Public schools will now have to provide instruction for students in grades eight through 12, on, at a minimum, the physical, emotional and behavioral symptoms of grief; coping mechanisms and techniques for handling grief and loss; and resources available to students, including in-school support, mental health crisis support and individual and group therapy.
The Department of Education will be required to provide school districts with age-appropriate resources concerning grief. This will take effect immediately and requires the State Board of Education to adopt standards pertaining to grief concurrent with the five-year review and update cycle of the content areas.
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