Steven Goldstein, chairman of Garden State Equality, a gay-rights group that pushed for the measure signed by Gov. Christie last January, said lawmakers could make changes quickly to keep the law in force. He said it might also be possible to update the law in such a way that it complies with Friday's ruling without spending more state money.
"Legislators, advocates, all of us are quickly swinging into action to meet the council's decision," Goldstein said Friday evening.
He said the fix might be as simple as adding language to the bullying law to say that it is required in order to provide the "thorough and efficient" education required by the state constitution.
Though it had been months in the making, lawmakers expedited passage of the measure after the high-profile suicide of Rutgers University student Tyler Clementi. The 18-year-old killed himself after his roommate allegedly used a webcam to spy on Clementi's intimate dorm-room encounter with a man in September 2010. The roommate, Dharun Ravi, has pleaded not guilty to bias-crime and invasion-of-privacy charges. His trial is to begin in late February.
Advocates say the bullying law, which passed with bipartisan support, is the toughest in the nation. It requires school districts to have anti-bullying policies and to report incidents, even those that do not take place on school property, to the state government.
It was challenged by the board of education in Allamuchy Township in rural northwest New Jersey's Warren County. The district of 427 students said the law would require an expenditure this year of $6,000 to train educators, with more costs in the future.
Other districts filed papers supporting Allamuchy. Several school officials have complained that the law is costly to them.
Marie Bilik, the executive director of the New Jersey School Boards Association, described the anti-bullying law as "well-intentioned" but said it needed more work before it took effect at the start of the current school year.
She said the group would like to help the state come up with a method that would provide "adequate financial support."
Sen. Loretta Weinberg (D., Bergen), a main sponsor of the law, said she hoped school districts would continue to follow the law's requirements while the changes were worked out.
