Compliance report: Baltimore City Schools reports rise in bullying reports for 2023–24 and outlines training, outreach

Josh Sivan, the district’s chief legal officer, and Katia Stokes, director in the Wholeness office, presented an update on compliance with policy JBA (nondiscrimination/bullying) to the Safety & Wholeness Committee on Jan. 22.

Stokes said the district received 825 bullying reports in school year 2023–24 and documented 194 suspensions associated with reported incidents. She clarified that the report count represents submitted reports, not necessarily incidents conclusively substantiated as bullying, and that the increase from the prior year’s 781 reports likely reflects both higher reporting rates and national trends.

Stokes told commissioners the district’s outreach — school and community QR posters, school assemblies and literacy programs tied to bullying prevention — likely improved reporting. She also cited mental‑health challenges and increased citywide violent incidents as background factors that influence peer interactions and reporting.

To address incidents and capacity, the district said it expanded training for school leaders and staff. Stokes described summer and winter professional learning sessions that focused on identifying bullying and using an investigation protocol; she said district partners provided student assemblies and literacy‑based interventions in schools to teach recognition and coping skills. Chief Legal Officer Sivan added that the district upgraded its all‑staff training in collaboration with the schools office, the equity office, OIT and human capital and will deliver an annual refresher that covers bullying, harassment and EEO topics.

Sivan also told the committee that complaints raising possible discrimination based on protected characteristics receive coordinated follow‑up with the fair practices office. He said certain types of discrimination‑allegation categories (e.g., allegations involving harassment, disability and sexual orientation) have been among the more frequent claim types in recent years, and that staff are tracking multiple‑category claims where appropriate.

Commissioners asked for a clearer statement of challenges; Sivan and Stokes said the district would add an explicit challenges section in follow‑up materials and would supply analysis on how supports and specialist engagement affect incident outcomes (for example, whether increased specialist engagement corresponds with reduced suspensions). Stokes said the district is monitoring data and will revisit rubric thresholds and staffing as the number of safety transfers and reports change.

Ending: Staff committed to provide a follow‑up memo that lists key challenges, root‑cause analysis, and additional metrics the board requested (for example, specialist response and measurable outcomes tied to interventions). No new board action was proposed at the meeting.