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Superintendent outlines updated hate-incident and bullying investigation forms and MTSS/BSST review
Summary
Superintendent Peter Cushing reported on attorney-general guidance for investigating hate incidents and bullying, described proposed expanded investigation forms for schools, and previewed a stakeholder committee to review the district’s multi-tiered supports and student-support team processes.
Superintendent Peter Cushing told the school committee on Sept. 24 that the district has reviewed updated guidance from the Massachusetts Attorney General’s office on “hate incidents” and is revising investigation forms and procedures to improve evidence collection and case documentation.
Cushing said the proposed forms expand investigators’ ability to collect relevant material and record investigative steps—examples include investigator name and start date, staff consultations, student interviews, nurse injury evaluations and preservation of social-media evidence. He said the district’s legal counsel had reviewed draft forms and that finalized versions would be presented to the committee for adoption.
Cushing outlined the terminology the attorney general uses: a broad “hate incident” can encompass a code-of-conduct violation, bullying or harassment; criminal harassment and hate crimes are narrower legal categories that may follow from incidents. He emphasized that incidents occurring outside school but with a causal connection to the school environment are within the district’s responsibility to investigate.
The superintendent stressed that schools should favor restorative practices and pointed to state changes in discipline and juvenile-justice law that limit long suspensions and emphasize proportionate, educative responses. He said the district will roll out updated investigator forms and that principals and assistant principals will be supported to collect evidence and prepare safety plans for affected students.
Finally, Cushing described development of a stakeholder working group to examine how the district identifies and supports struggling students. The proposed committee membership included school committee members, CPAC representatives, pupil-personnel and special-education staff, general-education teachers and building administrators. The group’s work will review the district’s District Curriculum Accommodation Plan (DCAP), its Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS) and the Beverly Student Support Team (BSST) processes, examine intervention cycles and timing (six-to-eight week cycles were cited), and recommend improvements to ensure timely identification and services for students who potentially need special-education evaluation or other supports.
Cushing also said the district is considering a voluntary anonymous reporting tool (Sandy Hook Promise / See Something Say Something app) to allow students and community members to report concerns 24/7; he said the district will provide more details if the pilot moves forward.
