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Bill Promotes Grief Education in NJ Schools
On January 4, 2024, Governor Murphy signed S3330/A5015, a bipartisan effort led by Senator Jon Bramnick and Senator Joseph Cryan promoting instruction on grief, as part of the New Jersey Student Learning Standards in Comprehensive Health and Physical Education. Under the bill, New Jersey’s public schools will provide instruction for students in grades 8 through 12 regarding at a minimum, information on how grief can show up physically, emotionally, and behaviorally; techniques for coping with grief and loss; and resources available to students, including in-school support, mental health crisis support, and individual and group therapy.
The Commissioner of Education plans to provide school districts with age-appropriate sample learning activities and resources designed to implement the requirement that will apply to the next full school year.
The legislator called upon participants and staff from Imagine, A Center for Coping with Loss during consideration of the bill. Imagine participants, Elizabeth King-Quezada and her daughter, Ava Quezada as well as Altorice Frazier and Tiffany Love of Parents Engaging Parents (PEPNJ) advocated for the bill at the senate hearing.
Imagine’s Executive Director, Lindsay Schambach met regularly with families, educators, administrators, and others in the grief field throughout the legislative process and shared this about the bill: “The passing of the grief bill is an act of partnership and is a significant step towards supporting our children by normalizing grief in our communities. According to the Childhood Bereavement Estimation Model (CBEM), 1 out of 13 children in the state of NJ is expected to experience the death of a parent or sibling before the age of 18. It’s crucial for us to provide spaces and opportunities for our children throughout the state to have a better understanding of their experience and the experience of others in a supportive environment. We want our children to know they are not alone in their grief. Imagine is ready and honored to partner with the Department of Education, school districts, teachers and parents/caregivers to support this shift in our state and to serve as models for other states to join the movement.”
In partnership with others, Imagine is so proud to help ensure that children statewide will have the tools necessary to understand grief, create compassionate communities and build resiliency.
Imagine is a 501c3 nonprofit that offers free year-round grief support groups for children ages 3-18 and young adults 19-30 who are coping with a loss due to death. Concurrently, support groups are available for the parents and guardians of the children in the groups and offered in English and Spanish. Imagine also offers grief and loss education and training to the community. For more information please contact Imagine at 908-264-3100 or info@imaginenj.org.
