Summit Public School District reports steady student-safety incidents in twice-yearly HIB report

Superintendent Scott Hough and Laura Kaplan, the district's anti-bullying coordinator, presented the district's twice-yearly Student Safety Data System report covering Sept. 1'Dec. 31, 2025, and said the numbers were broadly consistent with prior reporting periods.

The report, required by state reporting rules, covered incidents the district records and publicly reports. Hough summarized the districtwide totals for the period: "we had 1 assault, 2 fights, 1 damaged property, 1 confirmed use, and 14 other removals," and described the overall pattern as "pretty comparable" year over year.

Kaplan provided a building-level breakdown of alleged HIB cases, distinguishing investigated-but-unfounded incidents, those found to meet statutory HIB criteria, and a new category, "preliminary determination" or principal discretion. "If they feel pretty obviously that it does not [meet the criteria], then they can use their determination to deal with it rather as a code of conduct or, maybe through counseling or other remedial measures," Kaplan said, describing the option as approved by a principal and the superintendent.

The presentation listed typical remediation steps for founded HIB incidents, which include parent contact, counseling and apology, and, where appropriate, detention or suspension. Kaplan highlighted annual staff HIB training, student trainings, suicide prevention and digital safety offerings, and newer district programs such as a high-school dating-violence presentation and expanded unified programs connecting general- and special-education students.

Board members asked for specifics about the student-facing "vector" training modules. Kaplan said the modules are an online, self-paced platform used mainly at the middle-school level that the district assigns based on incident motivation. "Students and parents are informed about the course. They're supposed to complete it, and then they have kind of a reflection with their counselor," she said, adding that administrators sometimes use the same platform for conduct-related suspensions not tied to HIB.

The board made a motion to approve the suspensions and HIB investigations for the period listed on the agenda; the motion was carried by the board.

What it means: The district framed the data as stable with targeted supports and training in place; the principal "preliminary determination" process is being used as a way to resolve matters that do not meet HIB criteria but still require intervention. The district said it is reviewing data and trends to refine supports and programming.

Authorities and context: The board noted that state reporting requirements govern the submission of this data to the department of education and that the presentation is the statutory twice-yearly public report. The report period was Sept. 1, 2025, through Dec. 31, 2025. The board did not announce additional policy changes tonight; follow-up work and vendor research were noted for separate disproportionality issues identified from prior-year data.

Next steps: The board approved the agenda motion to accept the suspensions/HIB investigations for the reporting period; administration will continue to review trends and training effectiveness and to pursue vendor guidance on disproportionality remedies if required.