NJ School Board Members Forced to Resign

Some 350 school board members across New Jersey are being forced to resign their positions after failing to comply with a new law that requires them to undergo a background check, according to The Star-Ledger in Newark.
 

The background check requirement was passed by the state legislature last year and is the only one of its kind in the country, according to the newspaper.

It requires board members to be measured by the same standards they use in hiring teachers, including undergoing a criminal background investigation.
 

The newspaper reported that board members were supposed to have completed their background checks by Dec. 31. Those who did not, or that refuse to step down, could be charged under the new law with a fourth-degree crime.

“If you don’t complete the background check, and you try to stick around, you risk going to jail. It’s as simple as that,” Democratic Assemblyman Jerry Green, the law’s chief sponsor, told the Star-Ledger.