Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 18, September 16, 2024
(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.
