N.J. Admin. Code § 13:61-1.4

Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 21, November 4, 2024

Section 13:61-1.4 - Course requirements; requirements for approval

(a) Course materials submitted for approval shall comply with the National Association of State Boating Law Administrators (NASBLA) boat safety course standards 1.1 through 8.2.14, and R1 through R4, as published in the 2016 version of the "National Boating Education Standards," incorporated herein by reference, as amended and supplemented, in effect at the time the course is submitted. The standards may be obtained from the National Association of State Boating Law Administrators, 1648 McGrathiana Parkway, Lexington, KY 40511 or online at www.nasbla.org. Delivery of approved courses shall comply with the standards in effect at the time that the course is taught.

(b) In addition to the requirements in (a) above, course materials shall include comprehensive information on the following New Jersey State specific topics:

1. Mandatory education requirements for out-of-State operators;

2. New Jersey specific laws and rules that pertain to vessel speed;

3. New Jersey specific laws and rules that pertain to waterskiing;

4. Homeland security;

5. Environmental concerns when operating in shallow water or near environmentally sensitive shorelines;

6. Marine Sanitation Devices (MSD);

7. New Jersey specific laws and rules pertaining to the operation of personal watercraft; and

8. Contact information for the New Jersey State Police, Marine Services Bureau.

(c) Except as provided in (d)3 below for Internet courses, the written text of the course shall be provided to each student at the beginning of each course and shall remain the property of the student for the purpose of future reference.

(d) Except as provided in (d)3 below, an approved course shall be a minimum of eight hours in length. The eight hours shall consist of at least six hours of in-person formal instruction by an approved boat safety instructor. A 10 minute, non-cumulative break within each hour of instruction is permitted. The remaining two hours shall consist of either in-person formal instruction or home study assigned by the instructor, which shall require the completion of written homework, and up to one hour for testing. All instruction required under (a) and (b) above shall be covered through in-person formal instruction and may be supplemented through written homework.

1. When the course consists of seven or more hours of in-person classroom instruction, the approved examination may be administered immediately following the instruction.

2. When the course consists of less than seven hours of in-person classroom instruction, the approved examination may not be administered until the homework portion has been completed and 24 hours have elapsed since the beginning of the in-person classroom instruction.

3. An Internet course that is submitted for approval is subject to all requirements of this chapter, except the requirement for in-person classroom instruction.

i. The Internet course shall provide the equivalent of eight hours of instruction. The Internet course shall be constructed in a way that does not allow the student to skip any pages or sections, or complete the online portion of the course in less than five hours. Each section or page of an Internet course shall be displayed for an amount of time appropriate for the complexity and amount of content found in that section or page. The five hours shall not include the time required to complete the comprehensive review quizzes set forth in (d)3iii below or the in-person proctored test required by (e) below. The course shall be so constructed as to allow the student to stop and re-start, and return to complete the course at a later time, thus, not requiring that the course be completed without pause. Courses may include graphics, and when possible, include animation (video, etc) to demonstrate various concepts.

ii. The provider shall establish procedures to ensure the integrity of the course and to verify the identity of the student.

iii. The course shall consist of multiple sections or chapters, having all required New Jersey specific content integrated into the text. A comprehensive review quiz shall follow the completion of each section or chapter. The review quiz shall contain questions relating to pertinent information contained within that section or chapter. There shall be at least one question drawn from each page of the section or chapter with a minimum of 10 questions drawn from each section or chapter. A minimum of 50 review questions shall be provided for each course. More questions may be required for approval if it is deemed necessary to adequately cover the required subject matter. At least five of the questions shall be on topics related to New Jersey specific statutes and rules, there shall be a minimum of five questions pertaining to "navigation rules" and five questions pertaining to "safety equipment." The questions shall be randomly selected from a larger pool of questions and shall not be constructed in such a way that makes an answer obvious. The minimum passing score for each comprehensive review quiz is 80 percent. Successful completion of the Internet course requires the student to pass every comprehensive review quiz. If, at the discretion of the Internet course provider, a final examination is also provided, the student shall be required to pass the final examination with a minimum score of 80 percent.

iv. All Internet course pages that contain information on required boating safety topics specified in (a) and (b) above shall be in a format that would allow them to be printed by the student and retained for that student's future reference, except that any quiz or test associated with the course shall not be in a format that would allow printing.

v. Upon successful completion of the Internet course, the Internet course provider shall provide the student with written proof of successful completion of the course.

vi. The Internet course shall culminate with an in-person, proctored examination that meets the requirements of (d) below. The test may be administered by the Internet course provider or by arrangement with another approved boat safety course provider. An approved boat safety course provider shall require that a student present proof of successful completion of the approved Internet course prior to taking the written examination. The approved boat safety course provider administering the examination shall make note of the Internet course provider on the Application for Boat Safety Certificate, and forward the application to the Marine Services Bureau upon successful completion of the examination.

(e) Upon completion of the formal instruction, and any assigned homework, the provider shall administer an approved closed book, four-answer option, multiple choice examination, consisting of at least 50 questions, to each student. Each question shall be of equal value. The provider shall establish procedures to ensure the integrity of the test and the testing process and prevent cheating. The examination shall be comprehensive and shall include at least five questions on navigation rules, five questions on State-specific statutes and rules and five questions on safety equipment. The examination shall be proctored in person by an approved boat safety instructor.

1. An individual who fails on the first attempt to successfully complete the approved closed book exam as set forth in (e) above, shall wait at least 24 hours before attempting the test a second time.

2. An individual who fails on the second attempt to successfully complete the approved closed book exam as set forth in (e) above, shall re-take and successfully complete another approved boating safety course in order to be eligible to receive a New Jersey boat safety certificate.

(f) Students who successfully complete an approved course and examination as set forth in (e) above, shall be eligible for a boat safety certificate, subject to the requirements of 13:61-1.7. "Successfully complete" means that the student was present for all classroom instruction, completed any assigned home study, or, if the student completed an Internet course, completed all requirements as set forth in (d)3 above and scored a minimum of 80 percent on the examination required in (e) above.

N.J. Admin. Code § 13:61-1.4

Amended by 49 N.J.R. 3361(a), effective 10/2/2017