Board reviews student-safety data; confirmed HIB incidents fall from 15 to 10, buses flagged as problem area

The Little Egg Harbor Township Board of Education on Tuesday reviewed its Student Safety Data System (SSDS) submission for Jan. 1–June 30, 2025, and heard that confirmed harassment, intimidation and bullying (HIB) incidents decreased districtwide compared with the 2023–24 reporting period.

"The student safety data system is an online program that documents for every single school in the state of New Jersey any incidents of violence, suspensions, [investigations] and our programs and training that we conduct in our district to support those efforts," said Trezalino, director of personnel planning and evaluation, in a presentation to the board. She told the board the district recorded 25 investigations this year, compared with 26 in 2023–24, and 10 confirmed HIB incidents this year versus 15 the prior year.

Trezalino gave school-level details: at Fry Ponds School the district recorded eight investigations (six confirmed, two unfounded), one discipline incident that rose to the level of violence and 10 out-of-school suspensions; Mitchell School had one confirmed incident, four investigations deemed unfounded and two suspensions; the ECC reported no investigations or out-of-school suspensions for the period. She also noted the district conducts suicide-prevention and anti-bullying trainings and posts its HIB grading reports on district and school websites after New Jersey Department of Education approval.

Board members asked whether incidents that occur on buses are captured in the SSDS. "Bus suspensions are not required to be submitted," Trezalino said, "but if it's a HIB-related matter, yes." She added that, historically, buses are "the number one area in regards to a lot of negative behaviors" because they are often unsupervised. The board discussed the potential for the district to run grade-level and location-specific reports to better target interventions; Trezalino said she can provide those breakdowns.

Members also raised attendance and engagement at prevention programs and parent workshops; Trezalino said participation varies by event and that the district tries a range of evening and family-oriented offerings. She said anti-bullying specialists meet with school safety and climate teams to review data and identify where targeted programming is needed.

The board asked administration to provide additional data, including grade-level breakdowns and historical comparisons of bus-related incidents, so members can monitor trends and budget or policy needs ahead of the next school year. The board did not take any formal policy action at the meeting; staff will follow up with the requested reports.