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Assistant superintendent reports drop in HIB and removal-related incidents in midyear report
Summary
Assistant superintendent Amy Kea presented the district's semiannual violence and vandalism (HIB) report for JulyDec. 2024, citing a modest decline in state-reportable incidents and a 94-incident drop in "other incidents leading to removal," and outlined trainings, anti-bullying supports and reporting procedures.
Assistant superintendent Amy Kea, filling in for Superintendent Janet Choka, reported the North Brunswick Township School District's required midyear Violence and Vandalism (HIB) report for the July 1Dec. 31, 2024 period, saying overall state-reportable incidents declined slightly compared with the previous reporting period.
Kea told the board the largest single decrease was a 94-incident drop in "other incidents leading to removal," a category the district uses to track behaviors such as cutting class, insubordination, disruptive conduct and academic-integrity violations. "That is the biggest drop that we've seen in the past several years," she said.
The report distinguished HIB submitted claims from confirmed HIB findings and noted the New Jersey Department of Education's review process: submitted claims are screened to determine whether a full HIB investigation is required under state law. Kea said 20 HIB submitted claims in reporting period one were confirmed and 15 were unfounded; 11 submitted claims were preliminarily determined not to proceed to a state HIB investigation but were handled under the district code of conduct when appropriate.
Kea described the district's ongoing training and prevention work, including mandatory HIB trainings, additional behavior-focused professional development (conflict resolution, classroom management, suicide prevention, threat-assessment training) and multi-tiered supports for social-emotional learning. She also noted the state requires an anti-bullying specialist for preschool programs and described how some preschool-appropriate programs are not technically labeled as HIB trainings under current definitions.
Board members thanked Kea for the presentation and asked no substantive follow-up questions. Kea pointed viewers and residents to the district's anti-bullying webpage (nbtschools.org) for reporting forms, FAQs and program details.
The board accepted the report and moved on to other business. The district posted the full HIB report in the meeting packet (agenda pages 1214).
