NJ Labor Department launches back-to-school campaign to protect crossing guards, students
NEW JERSEY — The New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development has launched a statewide back-to-school safety campaign urging motorists to slow down and remain alert in school zones as students return to classrooms.
The campaign, “School’s Back, Slow Down in the Zone — Get Kids & Guards Safely Home,” is being led by the department’s Public Employees Occupational Safety and Health program, or PEOSH, and focuses on protecting school crossing guards and children.
According to the department, three school crossing guards have been killed and nine injured while protecting children in New Jersey communities over the past three years.
“Our crossing guards are heroes who stand between our children and danger every single school day,” said Acting Labor Commissioner Kevin D. Jarvis. “After the devastating loss of several members of our crossing guard community, we doubled down on our commitment to urge every driver to do their part; lives depend on it. Slow down in the zone — get our guards and kids safely home.”
As part of the campaign, billboards will be displayed throughout September along several high-traffic roadways, including Route 15 North south of Interstate 80 in Wharton and Route 46 west of New Road in Parsippany. Other billboards are located along Route 440 at the Outerbridge Crossing, Route 1 South in South Brunswick and Route 4 West in Paramus.
The campaign also includes online and social media messaging reminding drivers to reduce their speed in school zones, put away their phones, stop for crossing guards, watch for children and never pass a stopped school bus.
The department said motorists should also eliminate other distractions, remain alert for pedestrians and bicyclists and allow additional travel time to avoid rushing through school zones.
The latest campaign follows several incidents involving crossing guards in New Jersey. In 2025, two crossing guards were killed and five were seriously injured, according to the department. In May, an 80-year-old crossing guard was killed and two students were injured when they were struck by an SUV in a marked crosswalk in Woodland Park.
From 1993 through May 2026, 19 New Jersey crossing guards were killed after being struck by drivers, while more than 390 others were injured on the job in motor vehicle crashes, according to state Department of Health data cited by NJDOL.
PEOSH has also conducted a statewide safety initiative that reached 5,327 crossing guards in 490 municipalities. The program conducted 198 inspections affecting 1,508 crossing guards to review safety equipment, training and crosswalk conditions.
Those inspections resulted in 79 hazard awareness letters, 13 personal protective equipment citations and eight training violations, according to NJDOL.
“Every worker deserves to come home safe and sound at the end of the day,” said Acting Commissioner Jarvis. “We have an obligation to do all we can to try to prevent these tragedies. It starts with every driver staying focused when they are behind the wheel, especially around our neighborhood schools.”
The campaign is also part of the state’s broader Target Zero effort, which has a goal of eliminating traffic deaths and serious injuries in New Jersey by 2040.
NJDOL is also reminding teenagers returning to school that most young workers in New Jersey must obtain working papers before beginning an after-school job.
The department noted that New Jersey’s Earned Sick Leave law allows parents to use earned sick leave for certain school-related activities, including parent-teacher conferences, back-to-school nights and Individualized Education Program meetings.
