By Lila Swietanski for the NJ State House News Service

The Assembly Education Committee passed a bill on Monday to require most public schools to provide sunscreen or sun-protective clothing for students at school events.

“One blistering sunburn in childhood or adolescence can more than double a person’s chances of developing melanoma later in life,” said Erika Tvedten, a dermatology resident at Cooper University Hospital in Camden who testified in favor of the bill. 

Melanoma is the deadliest form of skin cancer. Sunscreen and sun-protective clothing have been proven to prevent the disease.

“Ninety percent of skin cancer is preventable,” Tvedten said. “Even if you’re tan or your skin type is dark, your skin does not redden, the sun can still cause cellular damage that can lead to cancer.” 

The committee cleared the bill, which ensures student access to Food and Drug Administration-approved sunscreen at no cost to students on a 9-0 vote. The bill will now move to a vote by the full Assembly.

Assemblywoman Pamela Lampitt (D-Camden), the committee chair, said her sister developed melanoma during her freshman year of college. If better policies had been in place, she said, her sister might not have suffered. 

“We need to educate our kids” about the sun’s dangers, she said.

The legislation would make sunscreen available to all students, including those in school districts where students are required to provide a physician’s note.

According to Cosmetics Design North America, similar legislation has been approved in at least two dozen states and the District of Columbia.

New Jersey State House News Service is a collaboration by student journalists from Rutgers and The College of New Jersey to cover state government and politics under the direction of faculty and professional journalists.