STATE AMENDS ANTI-BULLYING BILL OF RIGHTS ACT

In August 2022 the state amended the NJ Anti-Bullying Bill of Rights Act. 

I am not a lawyer so I am not going to even attempt to decipher the amendments to the act for you. But, it is my general feeling, as a parent and taxpayer, that when significant changes are being made that will affect my child(ren) and yours that I’d like to hear about it.

Generally speaking, HIB is a bit mysterious but not as elusive as, say, a unicorn.  I have found that the majority of adults in our community aren’t really sure what HIB is, what the implications are, but they seem to have a strong undetsanding of the trigger words to initiate an investigation when they feel their child has been unfairly treated by another individual at school. 

As a whole, I think the district should do a better job at both helping parents understand HIB, and also to understand what, specifically, our policy and procedures regarding HIB entail. 

So, why haven’t the new updates been addressed by the district?  The district website was updated today, but not with a lot of fundamental data – just forms that the state requires.

It all comes down to why we are all here, education.  If we can properly educate our children and their parents about HIB we can, with hope, address and support the needs of everyone before behaviors escalate, resulting in HIB investigations that, if founded, will stay with that child for their educational career.   We have an amazing group of building Principals, support staff, teaching staff and counselors. The lack of parental involvement, as a whole, needs to change. Conversations, in general, need to happen and happen often.

 Some helpful information from nj.gov worth reading:

“Under N.J.S.A. 18A:37-15, each district board of education continues to be granted local control over the contents of the HIB policy, but, at a minimum, the components listed in the amended statute must be included in the school district’s policies and procedures prohibiting HIB. Additionally, district policy must continue to conform to all applicable case law, statutes and regulations.”

“School districts should employ a comprehensive approach to addressing student behavior and may find it helpful to implement a multi-tiered system of support (i.e. New Jersey Tiered System of Supports, New Jersey Positive Behavior Support in Schools).” This model clearly demonstrates the need for family and community engagement – the key component lacking in this district.

Here is the only school grade report on HIB, from 2020-2021

If you’re looking for a parent resource, the district website has one, from 2017, here: https://www.bhpsnj.org/Page/2958

Link to State Amendment: https://www.nj.gov/education/safety/sandp/hib/faq.shtml