Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the School Safety And Attendance topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Superintendent reports SSDS safety figures and details new attendance rule that affects exam exemptions
Summary
Superintendent Dr. Hazel presented phase-one SSDS data (Sept'Dec 2025), reporting 26 confirmed HIB findings and declines in substance incidents, and announced a new attendance rule that caps exam exemptions at 13 cumulative absences.
At the Freehold Regional High School District board meeting, Superintendent Dr. Hazel presented the district's phase-one Student Safety Data System (SSDS) report and outlined a new attendance rule that will affect eligibility for final-exam exemptions.
Dr. Hazel said the SSDS submission for September through December 2025 showed "six" vandalism cases, "two" weapon possessions and "six" substance-abuse cases. She reported "26 confirmed hits" of harassment, intimidation and bullying (HIB) and "18 alleged hits," for a combined total of 44 HIB-related reports. Breaking down incidents of violence, she said the district recorded two simple assaults, one sexual assault, seven threats and 10 fights.
"This district takes these matters very, very seriously," Dr. Hazel said, describing prevention and intervention efforts including restorative-practices training, counseling supports and community partnerships.
Dr. Hazel also explained an attendance policy change intended to reduce chronic absenteeism. Under state standards, a student is chronically absent after missing more than 10% of school days (18 of 180). The district has set an internal threshold for exam exemptions: students may have no more than 13 cumulative days absent prior to an exam administration to remain eligible for senior and AP/IB exemptions. "If they do [exceed 13 days], the student would not be able to be exempt from their final exam," she said, adding that students who exceed certain absence thresholds could face course credit withdrawal.
Dr. Hazel noted the district has improved attendance by about five percentage points compared with the prior school year but that the district overall still exceeds the 10% chronic-absence threshold and will continue work on its corrective action plan (CAP).
The superintendent said the district must post annual HIB assessment results on its website and reported that the district earned a perfect score on its 2024-2025 HIB rubric. She emphasized that each HIB investigation is reported to the board and handled with formal investigations and supports for students.
The board did not take formal policy action at the meeting; the presentation and data were recorded as part of the superintendent's report and will inform future CAP work and staff planning.
