District reports 33 HIB investigations for Jan–June 2025; nine confirmed under state standards

The district’s anti-bullying coordinator presented required HIB (harassment, intimidation and bullying) data for Jan. 1–June 30, 2025, reporting 33 investigations initiated and nine confirmed cases that met the criteria under the New Jersey Anti-Bullying Bill of Rights.

Breakdown by school: the presenter provided school-level counts: Roselle Park High School had three confirmed cases (five alleged), the middle school three confirmed (13 alleged), Robert Gordon one confirmed (one alleged), Aldine two confirmed (four alleged), and Sherman zero confirmed (one alleged). The district said principals and anti-bullying specialists investigated all reported incidents during the reporting period and that preliminary determinations were not used.

Consequences and supports: The coordinator said consequences and remedial measures are applied case by case and can range from counseling and parent conferences to suspension or police involvement when warranted. The presentation listed school programs and trainings run during the period — peer-support programs, school assemblies on the power of words and related topics, safety-patrol activities, social-emotional learning observances, and HIV policy/prevention trainings — as part of prevention and response efforts.

Why it matters: The law requires districts to report incidents and to submit a self-assessment rubric for state review. The presenter said the district’s self-assessment scores for 2024–25 were approved at the September board meeting and will be submitted to the NJDOE; the state takes several months to review and release official scores.

Ending: The district characterized its approach as using incidents as learning and remediation opportunities while continuing training and prevention programming across the schools.