Ocean Township school leaders report fewer confirmed HIBs in midyear student-safety report

Superintendent Walden told the Township of Ocean School District Board of Education on Jan. 21 that confirmed HIBs declined to seven in the Sept.—Dec. 2024 reporting period, down from 11 during the same months in 2023. The superintendent displayed the district's HIB summary and other student-safety data and reviewed how incidents were classified.

The superintendent said the 2024 tally included three incidents involving race or color, one involving sexual orientation and four listed under "other distinguishing characteristics." She said seven incidents were verbal in nature and one was electronic, and cautioned that a single event can register in more than one mode or nature. Walden also reported investigation counts by building: the high school had eight investigations with three confirmed HIBs; the intermediate school had eight investigations with three confirmed; Wayside Elementary had one investigation that was confirmed; no investigations were reported at Ocean Township Elementary or Amasa Elementary for this period. Separately, district student-safety reporting for the period listed 11 incidents categorized as "violence," zero vandalism incidents, zero weapons incidents, and two instances of substance abuse.

Board member Weinstein asked whether the change represented a trend. Walden said it was "too early to say it's a trend," but added that she believed the district had improved investigation procedures and staff training. "I do think we've gotten better as an administration at investigating these cases and following the law," she said, and noted the district shares case-law and training materials with school anti-bullying specialists. The superintendent emphasized the limits of the data: investigators may record multiple natures or modes for a single event, so subtotals may not sum to the confirmed-case count.

Why it matters: New Jersey law and district policy require boards to receive periodic student-safety data. The board heard a midyear snapshot showing fewer confirmed HIBs but no formal policy action was taken; Walden and board members discussed continuing training and investigative practice. Questions from public commenters at the meeting included requests for school-level breakdowns of the broader "violence" category and for better public access to meeting minutes and reports.

Provenance: topicintro: transcript block starting 227.405 ("...my last part of my report this evening is every year, twice a year, the superintendent reports out to the board of education information about our, student safety data report."). topicfinish: transcript block starting 420.965 ("0 incidents of vandalism, 0 of weapons, 2 instances of substance abuse, and 7 him confirmed cases.").