Haddonfield reports 15 HIB incidents in first half of school year; suspensions decline districtwide

Haddonfield School District officials told the board they recorded 15 suspected incidents of harassment, intimidation and bullying (HIB) during the first reporting period of the 2024–25 school year, district anti-bullying coordinator Mr. Fox said at the board meeting.

The district presented the first of two required HIB reports for the year, covering Sept. 1–Dec. 31. "We had a total of 15 recorded incidents, from Sept. 1 through Dec. 31," Mr. Fox said, and described the district's process for screening and investigating those reports.

The report explained that 7 of those 15 incidents were determined at the principal preliminary-determination stage not to require a full investigation because the initial forms did not show a distinguishing characteristic or a substantial disruption. Of the remaining eight matters that were investigated, Mr. Fox said 2 were confirmed HIB and 6 were not confirmed. He gave a breakdown of alleged distinguishing characteristics among the investigated incidents: three incidents identified race, two identified sexual orientation, one identified disability and two were categorized as "other." Mr. Fox said the district uses the state-provided LEA 338 form to capture report details and uploads that material into the district HIB case-management tool, MyK12.

Board members and staff described steps the district is taking to increase reporting and to educate students and families. Mr. Fox said the high school graphic-arts program produced "Stop It" flyers with QR codes allowing anonymous digital reports; the flyers and other outreach coincided with an increase in reports made through that tool. He also described training provided by Strauss Esmay (the district’s legal advisors), assemblies with the Camden County Prosecutor’s Office on cyber safety, and a virtual community session with NJPSA LegalOne.

On related discipline measures, district administrators presented the violence and vandalism report used by the state student database (SSDS). Across the district the presentation showed a drop in out-of-school suspension days from 34 last year to 17 this reporting period, while in‑school suspension totals were unchanged. The presenter and board members attributed part of the drop to a more proactive approach at the middle and high schools, and to increased use of Saturday detentions as an alternative that is not reported as an in‑school or out‑of‑school suspension.

Public commenters raised related concerns. Resident Stephanie Weinstein asked the board to "consider and understand how intent and disability are factored into investigations," and urged the district to examine whether out‑of‑school suspension is being applied equitably to students with disabilities. Another resident, Carol Stoner, urged the district to examine screen time and its effects on younger students as part of a broader conversation about student wellbeing; that topic was raised later in public comment.

Board members said they will continue training and outreach and will provide additional materials to the community. The board voted to accept the HIB, violence and vandalism report as part of the consent agenda later in the meeting (see "Votes at a glance" in the consent-approvals article).