3161. 	EXAMINATION FOR CAUSE 

A.    	Pursuant to N.J.S.A. 18A:16-2 and N.J.A.C. 6A:32-6.3, the Board of 		Education may require physical or psychiatric examinations of a 			teaching staff member whenever, in the judgment of the Board, a 			teaching staff 	member shows evidence of deviation from normal 			physical or mental health, to determine the teaching staff member's 		physical and mental fitness to perform, with reasonable 				accommodation, the position the teaching staff member currently 			holds, or to detect any health risk(s) to students and other employees.  		When the Board requires a teaching staff 	member to undergo a 			physical or psychiatric examination:

	1.     	The Board shall provide the teaching staff member with a 				written statement of the reasons for the required examination; 			and

	2.     	The Board shall provide the teaching staff member with a 				hearing, if requested.

		a.     	Notice of the teaching staff member’s right to a hearing 				shall be provided with the statement of reasons for the 				required examination;
	
		b.     	The teaching staff member must request the Board 					hearing, in writing, within five working days of the 					teaching staff 	member’s receipt of the written statement 				of reasons:

			(1)    	The teaching staff member shall be ordered to 					submit to the appropriate examination(s) by the 					physician or institution designated by the Board 					if the teaching staff member failed to timely 						request a hearing before the Board;

		c.     	The Board hearing shall be conducted in accordance 				with the provisions of N.J.S.A. 18A:25-7 and will offer 				the teaching staff member the opportunity to appear 					before the Board to refute the reason(s) for the required 				examination(s);

		d.     	The teaching staff member shall be ordered to submit to 				the appropriate examination(s) by the physician or 					institution designated by the Board if the teaching staff 				member failed to persuade the Board at the hearing 					that the teaching staff member should not be required 				to submit to the appropriate examination(s); and 

		e.     	The determination of such a hearing shall be appealable 				to the Commissioner pursuant to N.J.S.A. 18A:6-9 and 				N.J.A.C. 6A:4 – Appeals.

	3.     	The teaching staff member may refuse, without reprisal, to 				waive their right to protect the confidentiality of medical 				information, in accordance with P.L. 104-191, Health 				Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996.

B.    	Pursuant to N.J.S.A. 18A:16-3, the Board shall bear the cost of 			examinations made by a physician or institution designated by the 			Board.  However, the teaching staff member shall bear the cost if the 		examination is performed by a physician or institution designated by 		the teaching staff member with approval of the Board.

	1.     	If the teaching staff member submits names of physicians or 			institutions to the Board for consideration to complete the 				appropriate examination(s), the Board is not required to 				designate the physician or institution submitted for 					consideration by the 	teaching staff member, but shall not act 			unreasonably in withholding its approval of the physician or 			institution.

	2.     	The teaching staff member shall authorize the physician or 				institution performing the examination to immediately release 			the examination results to the Superintendent. 

	3.     	All records and reports relating to any such examination shall 			be the property of the Board, in accordance with N.J.S.A. 				18A:16-5.

		a.     	Health records of teaching staff members, including 				computerized records, shall be secured, stored, and 					maintained separately from other personnel files; and

		b.     	Health records may be shared only with authorized 					individuals in accordance with N.J.S.A. 18A:16-5.

	4.     	If the results of any such examination indicate mental 				abnormality or communicable disease, the teaching staff 				member shall be ineligible for further service until proof of 				recovery, satisfactory to the Board, is furnished, but if the 				teaching staff member is under contract or has tenure, they 				may be granted sick leave with compensation as provided by 			law and shall, upon satisfactory recovery, be permitted to 				complete the term of their contract, if they are under contract, 			or be reemployed with the same tenure as 	they possessed at the 			time their services were discontinued, if they have tenure, 				unless their absence shall exceed a period of two years in 				accordance with N.J.S.A. 18A:16-4. 

C.    	In order to return to work, the teaching staff member must submit to 		an appropriate examination and submit the results of the examination 		to the Superintendent. 

	1.     	The examination must be conducted by a physician or 				institution upon which the Board and teaching staff member 			confer and agree;   

	2.     	If the physician or institution conducting the examination is 			conducted by the Board’s choice, the cost shall be borne by the 			Board; if the physician or institution conducting the 					examination is conducted by the teaching staff member’s 				choice, the cost shall be borne by the teaching staff member; 			and

	3.     	The teaching staff member shall authorize the physician or 				institution performing the examination to immediately release 			the examination results to the Superintendent. 

D.    	A teaching staff member who refuses to submit to an examination 			required by the Board in accordance with this Policy and has 			exhausted the hearing procedures established by law and this Policy 		shall be subject to discipline, which may include, but is not limited to, 		termination or certification of tenure charges to the Commissioner of 		Education, as applicable.

42 U.S.C.A. 12101
N.J.S.A. 18A:6-10; 18A:16-2; 18A:16-3; 18A:16-4; 18A:16-5
 18A:25-7; 18A:28-5; 18A:30-1 et seq.
N.J.A.C. 6A:32-6.2; 6A:32-6.3

Date Adopted:  1/19/76
Date Revised:   3/18/91, 10/15/91, 9/21/09, 12/19/23