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District official: 92 student safety reports Sept–Dec; HIB investigations rose in number but confirmations fell
Summary
The Dover Public School District reported 92 Student Safety Data System (SSDS) reports for Sept.–Dec. 2025, down from 124 the prior year; the district said 56 were alleged HIB investigations while 12 were confirmed, and that weapons and substance violations were zero.
Mr. Patrick Pandalfo, the district official presenting the Student Safety Data System (SSDS) report, told the board that the district recorded 92 SSDS reports from September through December 2025, down from 124 for the same period in 2024.
Pandalfo said the SSDS count reflects reports the district must file with the state and does not map one-to-one to suspensions. "So we had from September to December 92 total SSDS reports," he said, adding that many of those are HIB (harassment, intimidation and bullying) investigations that are alleged but not confirmed.
He said 56 reports were classified as HIB alleged and 12 were confirmed HIB incidents, and that confirmed HIBs most often result from disruptive or insulting verbal comments. "Most likely a HIB confirmed does lead to a suspension," he said, while noting there are rare cases — particularly among elementary students — where an incident may be confirmed as HIB but not meet the district's suspension threshold.
Pandalfo reported zero confirmed weapons violations and zero confirmed substance violations during the period; he also cited four vandalism incidents, seven violence incidents (typically fights or assaults), and 13 "other" incidents that led to removal for behavioral reasons.
During board questions, Pandalfo reiterated that an increase in HIB investigations can reflect more reports being made rather than more confirmed incidents: "There's definitely been more HIB investigations, but a lot less that fit the criteria of HIB," he said.
Why it matters: SSDS reporting is the state-required mechanism for tracking removals and HIB activity; the data informs district discipline practice, training needs and any targeted interventions. The district compared year-over-year figures to show declines in overall reporting and confirmed violent incidents but an uptick in alleged HIB investigations. The superintendent and board will review the data as they consider school climate and student-behavior strategies.
Next steps: The district intends to continue analyzing SSDS patterns by school and grade and to use the findings to tailor prevention and intervention efforts.
