Galloway Township board approves submission of 2024–25 HIB self‑assessment after SSDS presentation

GALLOWAY TOWNSHIP, N.J. — The Galloway Township Board of Education voted Oct. 13 to submit the district's Student Safety Data System (SSDS) self‑assessment and supporting documentation for the 2024–25 school year, following a detailed presentation from district student‑services staff.

The action, listed as agenda item 5.5, passed on a roll call after Director of Student Services Suzanne Tausen and Supervisor of Student Services Jennifer Levin presented the district's SSDS report and school self‑assessment covering Jan. 1–June 30, 2025. Superintendent Steve Santilli introduced the presentation.

The self‑assessment and SSDS are state reporting requirements that include counts of violence, vandalism, substance offenses and weapons incidents and a separate assessment of Harassment, Intimidation and Bullying (HIB) policies, investigations and prevention programming. Tausen said the presentation covered both the second report period for 2024–25 and totals for the full year: “This is just a full year report,” she said.

Why it matters: the SSDS submission and the district's HIB grade are the formal records the New Jersey Department of Education uses to evaluate how each district identifies and responds to bullying and related incidents. The self‑assessment also documents staff trainings, prevention programs and school safety planning that can guide local responses and parent communications.

Key facts presented

- Report period covered: Jan. 1–June 30, 2025. The district will next report for the first period of 2025–26 (ending in December) and present again in February, staff said. - Programming and training: staff reported 328 total programs and trainings across buildings for the year, including classroom lessons, staff trainings, volunteer/substitute orientation and partnership activities. - Self‑assessment scoring: the district's internal score for the year was reported as an anticipated 76 out of a possible 78 (the prior year's score was 75). Staff noted final grades are issued by the Department of Education after submission and review. - Investigations and teams: each building has a designated HIB investigator and school safety/climate teams that review patterns and guide classroom or grade‑level interventions. Levin said, “For our school district, these are our HIB investigators.” - Mental‑health supports: district staff said access to district mental‑health specialists, school counselors and Child Study Team (CST) supports is available and that mental‑health specialist involvement is determined case‑by‑case, depending on the needs of the alleged victim and the alleged offender.

Board questions and parent training

Board members asked about when mental‑health specialists are assigned and whether parents receive the same formal training the staff do. Tausen and Levin said that formal staff trainings (for example, through Public School Works and in‑district anti‑bullying specialists) are not routinely provided to all parents, but that administrators, the anti‑bullying specialist and student services staff will discuss the HIB criteria with parents when cases are investigated. Levin said the district provides materials on its website and in the parent handbook and that staff will have one‑on‑one conversations with parents when needed.

Family engagement and supports for students with disabilities

Staff said they will re‑engage families of students with disabilities through CPAC and other parent groups, and planned a meet‑and‑greet and needs survey for November to solicit topics for parent training (including a possible session explaining the difference between conflict and HIB under state law).

Summer initiatives and basic needs supports

Student services staff also reviewed summer programs and partnerships: the district arranged four food pickup events (and added a fifth) in partnership with the local food bank; continued a multi‑year partnership with Stockton Sustainable Farm to collect produce for families and noted Stockton's greenhouse plans could extend produce availability beyond summer. Staff said the district used funds to assemble and distribute care packages for families eligible under the McKinney‑Vento definition of homelessness.

Formal action

After the presentation the board moved and approved agenda item 5.5, the submission of the district's SSDS/HIB self‑assessment for 2024–25. The roll call on the motion recorded affirmative votes from the board members present; no board member was recorded as voting no on item 5.5.

What the board said

Superintendent Steve Santilli framed the presentation as a statutorily required report and a documentation of local prevention work. Suzanne Tausen emphasized how the district uses training and partnerships to support students and staff: “The most exciting number on here is the 328 programs throughout the course of the school year that we are doing in our buildings, for our students, for our staff,” she said.

Next steps

The district will submit the self‑assessment to the New Jersey Department of Education. The Department will return official HIB grades after review. The board will receive subsequent SSDS/HIB updates at the next reporting points in the 2025–26 school year.