NJ A4493

Creates a grant program through the Commissioner of Education to fund substance abuse prevention programs specifically for eighth grade students in New Jersey school districts.

Requires two program components: faculty/parent education workshops on substance abuse signs and prevention skills, and a four-phase student education curriculum.

Student education phases include presentations from teenage drug rehabilitation residents, individuals with family experience of substance abuse effects, minimum custody prison inmates discussing drug-related crimes, and celebrity role models promoting positive choices.

School districts must certify their budgets include matching funds from district, private donations, or federal sources to qualify for grants.

Parents may opt their children out of the student education component by submitting a signed statement citing conflict with the student's conscience, moral, or religious beliefs, with no academic penalties.