SENATE EDUCATION COMMITTEE
STATEMENT TO
SENATE, No. 2002
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
DATED: JUNE 20, 2022
The Senate Education Committee favorably reports Senate Bill No.
2002.
This bill establishes a three-year pilot program to assess the
academic and health benefits associated with the use of therapy
dogs in public elementary school wellness programs. A therapy
dog is a dog that has been trained, evaluated, and registered with a
handler to provide animal assisted therapy and other animal assisted
activities within a school or other facility. Some research suggests
that the use of therapy dogs in schools is associated with
improvements in school attendance, confidence, motivation, and
reading and writing skills.
Under the bill, a school district that wants to participate in the
pilot program is required to submit an application to the
commissioner. The application is required to include, but need not
be limited to: the number of elementary schools in the school
district; the number of students enrolled in each elementary school;
information on student participation in wellness programs at each
elementary school; and information on how the school district plans
to use therapy dogs to promote student wellness.
The commissioner will select two districts in each of the
southern, central, and northern regions of the State to participate in
the program and will seek a cross section of school districts from
urban, suburban, and rural areas of the State.
The commissioner will provide pilot districts with guidance
regarding the use of therapy dogs in schools including: examples of
activities that students may engage in with a therapy dog;
recommended training requirements for therapy dog handlers;
recommended measures to evaluate the health and appropriate
behavior of therapy dogs; and insurance issues relevant to having
therapy dogs on school district property.
No later than June 30 of the third school year following the
establishment of the pilot program, the commissioner will submit to
the Governor and to the Legislature a report that evaluates the
effectiveness of the pilot program in improving the academic
performance and health outcomes of students in elementary schools.