By Spencer Kent | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
on October 16, 2016 at 1:24 PM, updated October 16, 2016 at 1:31 PM
EDISON — After a felon had made it on this year’s township school board ballot, lawmakers introduced bills that would require all board of education candidates to “certify under oath they have never been convicted of crimes that would disqualify them from campaigning for school boards.”
State Sen. Patrick Diegnan (D-Middlesex) and Assemblyman Robert Karabinchak (D-Middlesex) have introduced identical bills in the state Senate and state Assembly.
Currently, felons convicted offirst- and second-degree crimes cannot serve in school district positions, according to state Department of Education regulations. But those felons can serve as candidates and have their names on the ballot since criminal background checks are not conducted until after the election.
If enacted, the bills would “require school board candidates to file a formal certification — along with their nominating petition — affirming they were never convicted of any disqualifying crimes,” according to a statement from Karabinchak’s office.
