Commissioner’s Annual Report to the Education Committees of the Senate and General Assembly on

Student Safety and Discipline in New Jersey Public Schools

For the period of July 1, 2017 to June 30, 2018

New Jersey Department of Education 100 River View Plaza, P.O. Box 500

Trenton, NJ 08625-0500

1

State Board of Education

Arcelio Aponte

President

Middlesex

Kathy A. Goldenberg

Vice President

Burlington

Mary Beth Berry Hunterdon

Elaine Bobrove Camden

Fatimah Burnam-Watkins Union

Ronald K. Butcher Gloucester

Jack Fornaro Warren

Mary Elizabeth Gazi Somerset

Nedd James Johnson, Ed, D. Salem

Ernest P. Lepore Hudson

Andrew J. Mulvihill Sussex

Joseph Ricca, Jr., Ed.D Morris

Sylvia Sylvia-Cioffi Monmouth

Dr. Lamont O. Repollet

Secretary

2

Table of Contents

STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION ............................................................................................................. 1

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ....................................................................................................................... 3

INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................................ 4

KEY FINDINGS .................................................................................................................................. 5

SSDS Incidents ......................................................................................................................... 5

School Police Reports .............................................................................................................. 8

HIB Investigations and Confirmed Incidents ......................................................................... 10

Nature of HIB ........................................................................................................................ 12

HIB Trainings ......................................................................................................................... 15

HIB Programs ........................................................................................................................ 16

Disciplinary Actions ............................................................................................................... 18

PROGRAMMATIC RESPONSE ............................................................................................................. 22

Department’s Response ........................................................................................................ 22

Department’s Objectives for the 2018-19 school year......................................................... 26

3

Executive Summary

This report has been revised to best highlight information from the new Student Safety

Data System for the 2017-18 school year. The New Jersey Department of Education

(Department) migrated to a new reporting system, the Student Safety Data System (SSDS),

which includes improved definitions, new reporting fields, and updated guidance for reporting

incidents. As such, comparing this year’s report to previous years’ data can lead to inaccurate

conclusions in many reporting categories. As such, the 2017-18 report should be considered a

baseline year. Among reported incidents:

• School personnel reported incidents to the police on 7,449 occasions, 2,829 of which

were mandatory referrals, and led to 1,385 student school-related arrests.

• Most HIB incidents occurred on school grounds, with 56 percent in middle schools. For

55 percent of confirmed HIB incidents, the nature of the bullying did not fit into one of

the protected categories listed.

• Schools reported 18,556 HIB trainings in 2017-18 and 25,784 HIB programs in 2017-18.

• Asian and Black students were more likely than students of other races to be targets of

HIB due to their race, while students with disabilities were more likely to be targeted for

their disabilities and females were more likely to be targeted for their gender or gender

identity and expression.

• Over 50,000 students were suspended from school during the school year on at least

one occasion, a little under 4 percent of the total New Jersey student population.

• 1,176 students were removed from school and sent to another school or other

education program, and 31 students were expelled from school and no longer received

educational services.

• Males were more likely to be suspended than females, black students more likely than

students of other races, and high school students more likely than students in other

grade levels.

4

Introduction

This report presents information provided by New Jersey public schools on disciplinary

infractions and their consequences for the 2017-18 school year to the Student Safety Data

System (SSDS). The information is presented annually by the New Jersey Department of

Education to the Governor and Legislature to fulfill the requirements of the Public School Safety

Law N.J.S.A. 18A:17-46 through 48. Districts are encouraged to review their incidents in

comparison to state-level results and consider whether proactive steps are needed to improve

school climate and student safety.

The SSDS was available for the first time in the 2017-18 school year. The system

replaced both the Electronic Violence and Vandalism Reporting System (EVVRS) and the

Harassment, Intimidation, and Bullying – Investigations, Trainings, and Programs (HIB-ITP)

system. The Department anticipated that districts would improve data reporting with the new

system, but expected fluctuations in reporting as schools and districts adjusted to the new

system, which includes updates to definitions and reporting guidance from previous years’

reports. Guidance and training documents regarding what is reported to the SSDS are available

on the SSDS homepage. Data from the 2017-18 report should be considered a baseline year.

The report has been revised to best highlight information from the new data system.

The SSDS continues collection of incidents of violence, vandalism, weapons, substance use, and

harassment, intimidation and bullying (HIB), as well as HIB trainings and programs. In addition,

the system now collects details on all allegations of HIB, along with all student suspensions and

other removals from school, as well as reports to the police and arrests. The new features and

data reporting changes in the SSDS were developed to capture details required for state and

federal data collection, including School Performance requirements of the Every Student

Succeeds Act and N.J.S.A. 18A:7E-3 and the federal Civil Rights Data Collection. Changes were

also made to make reporting easier for schools and districts and to improve data quality.

https://homeroom4.doe.state.nj.us/ssds/

5

Key Findings

SSDS Incidents

School districts in New Jersey reported 24,938 incidents of violence, vandalism,

weapons, substance use, and harassment, intimidation and bullying in the 2017-18 school year.

Violence and weapons offenses were found in both high schools and middle schools, substance

offenses and other incidents leading to removal primarily occur in high schools, and HIB

incidents were more likely to occur in middle school than in high school or elementary school.

Figure 1. Incidents by Category

Violence, 10,838

Weapons, 877Vandalism, 1,587

Substances, 4,463

Harassment, Intimidation, and

BUllying (HIB) 7,522

2017-18

Violence Weapons Vandalism Substances Harassment, Intimidation, Bullying (HIB)

6

Figure 2. Incidents of Violence

Figure 3. Incidents of Weapons

4,042

3,890

2,457

172

326

34

20

0

Fight

Assault

Simple Threat

Criminal Threat

Sexual Contact

Sexual Assault

Robbery/Extortion

Kidnapping

647

53

40

8

0

0

158

834

40

3

Knife, Blade

Spray

Air Gun, Pellet Gun, BB Gun

Handgun

Bomb

Imitation Gun

Other

Possession

Use

Sale/Distribution

7

Figure 4. Incidents of Vandalism

Figure 5. Incidents of Substances

False Public Alarm

194

Arson 42

Trespassing 63

Computer Trespass 86

Damage to Property585

Theft635

2,876

631

345

319

194

144

39

26

15

0

1,805

2,708

117

Marijuana

Drug Paraphernalia

Alcohol

Undetermined

Unauthorized Over-the-Counter Drug

Unauthorized Prescription Drugs

Designer/Synthetic Drugs

Cocaine/Crack

Heroin

Steroids

Possession

Use

Sale/Distribution

8

Figure 6. Incident Types by School Type

School Police Reports

During the 2017-18 school year, school personnel reported incidents to the police on

7,449 occasions. In 763 instances, reports involved student infractions that did not fit into a

category of violence, weapons, vandalism, substance, or HIB. Of all reports to police, 2,829

were mandatory referrals, or school-related incidents required to be reported to law

enforcement per New Jersey statute or regulation. This includes incidents involving firearms

or knives, assaults with weapons, assaults on staff members, criminal threats, sexual assault,

controlled dangerous substance possession, and bias-related incidents. In addition, 1,385

student arrests occurred at school. Male offenders were more likely to be arrested than

females for incidents reported to SSDS, high school students more likely than students in other

grade levels, and students with disabilities more likely than students without disabilities.

14% 10% 12%18%

4%

43%44%

33%

11%

56%

29%

43% 46%55%

89%

26%

66%

Violence Weapon Vandalism Substance HIB Other IncidentsLeading to Removal

Elementary* (879 schools) Middle (843 schools) High (469 schools)

9

Figure 7. School-Related Reports to Police

*More than one offender may be arrested per incident, and one student may be arrested more than one time per school year.

7,449

2,433

604

490

2,244

699

763

2,829

1,385

Total Reports to Police

Violence

Weapons

Vandalism

Substances

HIB

Other Incident Leading to Removal

Mandatory referrals

School Related Arrests*

10

HIB Investigations and Confirmed Incidents

There were 18,741 HIB investigations during the 2017-18 school year. Eighty-one

percent of HIB incidents occurred on school grounds. Though suspensions are common, schools

often report disciplinary actions for HIB offenders rather than removing the student from

school. Student counseling for both offenders and victims is the most common remedial action.

Figure 8. HIB Investigations

Figure 9. HIB Incident Location

HIB Investigations,18,741

Completed within 10 days, 18,335HIB Incidents,

7,522

HIB investigations Completed within 10 days HIB incidents

81%

11%8%

On School Grounds Off of School Grounds Both On and Off School Grounds

Figure 10. HIB Mode

Figure 11. HIB Effect

Figure 12. HIB Disciplinary Actions

407

614

1,273

1,572

6,024

Written

Gesture

Electronic

Physical

Verbal

2,573

3,139

3,206

3,750

6,180

Victim in fear

Interferred with education

Hostile environment by causing harm

Offender knew would cause harm

Insulted or demeaned student(s)

3,979

198 3

5,008

Suspension Removal to other educationprogram

Expulsion Other discipline

12

Figure 13. HIB Remedial Actions

Nature of HIB

Forty percent of HIB investigations led to affirmed HIB incidents. Cases involving certain

protected categories were more likely to be affirmed, including gender (75%), ancestry (74%),

sexual orientation (71%) or race (70%). Asian and Black students were more likely than students

of other races to be targets of HIB due to their race. Students with disabilities were more likely

to be targeted for their disabilities and females were more likely to be targeted for their gender

or gender identity and expression.

Figure 14. HIB Investigations and HIB Confirmed by HIB Nature

5,810

4,313

3,113

783

534

450

174

6,082

3,639

1,970

491

265

197

265

Student Counseling

Parent Conference

Other

Restorative Practices

Referral forTherapy/Treatment

Intervention & ReferralServices

Peer Support Group

Offenders Victims

1,699

329 5201,476 1,268 1,188

6,7097,164

1,191227 387

1,106 897 737

4,107

Race Religion Ancestry Gender SexualOrientation

Disability Other No IdentifiedNature

HIB Investigations HIB Confirmed

13

Figure 15. HIB Nature of Bullying Incident

Figure 16. HIB Target by Race of Students and Nature of Bullying

4,107

227

387

737

897

1,106

1,191

Other

Religion

Ancestry

Disability

Sexual Orientation

Gender

Race

188 694 784

242 228

308 1,223 19115

1,960 3,296

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

Asian or PacificIslander

Black Two or MoreRaces

American Indian Latino/a White

Race Other

14

Figure 17. HIB Target by Student ELL Status and Nature of Bullying

Figure 18. HIB Target by Student Disability Status and Nature of Bullying

Figure 19. HIB Target by Student Gender and Nature of Bullying

55 1,379

32 442

282 6,237

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

ELL Not ELL

Race Ancestry Other

44150

303

1,326245

6,061

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

IDEA 504 No Disability

Disability Other

1,032333

3,3863,676

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

Female Male

Gender Other

15

HIB Trainings

Schools reported 18,556 HIB trainings in 2017-18. Most districts offered at least one training on

the district’s HIB policy with bullying prevention instruction (84%) and most offered at least one

training to key school staff members (96%), other school staff (89%), and district staff (88%).

Figure 20. Districts offering one or more HIB Trainings by Attendee Type

649

599

591

432

377

362

Key School Staff (Administrators, Anti-Bullying Specialists,Teachers)

Other School Staff (Substitute Staff, Other School Staff)

District Level Staff (Anti-Bullying Coordinators,Administrators, Board of Education Members)

Students

Community (Volunteers, Parents)

Other (Contracted Services Providers, Other)

16

Figure 21. Districts offering one or more HIB Trainings by Training Type

HIB Programs

Schools reported 25,784 HIB programs in 2017-18. Most districts offered programs addressing

various school-wide conditions, especially student relationships (89%), the emotional

environment of the school (86%), morale in the school community (85%), safety (84%) and

teaching and learning (85%). Districts primarily offered these programs to students (88%) and

key school staff (86%).

566414

385383

375356354353350346

337323321

292285

274266

261226

308

Policy and PreventionSchool climate and culture improvement

HIB PreventionPolicy Only

Characteristics of those at-risk for HIBPeer relationships or Peer Social Norms

Social skills/relationship improvementAnti-Bullying Bill of Rights Act

CyberbullyingHIB Intervention

Conflict ResolutionHIB Consequences

Suicide prevention related to HIBSocial norms

Pro-social strategies for bystandersHIB Remediation

School-home-community partnershipsUse of data for HIB prevention

Parent involvement in HIB casesOther

17

Figure 22. Number of districts offering one or more HIB Program by Program Goal

Figure 23. Districts offering one or more HIB Programs by Attendee Type

600

582

577

570

560

505

451

Student Relationships

Emotional Environment

Morale in the School Community

Safety

Teaching and Learning

Physical Environment

Parental Support

597

581

519

474

447

333

Students

Key School Staff (Administrators, Anti-Bullying Specialists,Teachers)

Other School Staff (Substitute Staff, Other School Staff)

Community (Volunteers, Parents)

District Level Staff (Anti-Bullying Coordinators,Administrators, Board of Education Members)

Other (Contracted Services Providers, Other)

18

Disciplinary Actions

Beginning with the 2017-18 school year, the SSDS began collecting all student suspensions and

other removals. Over 50,000 students were suspended from school during the 2017-18 school

year on at least one occasion. Of the 50,000 students, 33,220 received one or more out-of-

school suspension and 25,779 received one or more in-school suspensions. Among suspended

students, most were suspended only once and for less than one week of school during the

course of the year, but many were suspended multiple times and for many days. In addition,

1,176 students were removed from school and sent to another school or other education

program, and 31 students were expelled from school and no longer received educational

services. Males were more likely to be suspended than females, black students more likely than

students of other races, and high school students more likely than students in other grade

levels.

Figure 24. Students Removed from School by Type of Removal

*These counts include students with disabilities who received unilateral removals or removals by a hearing officer.

50,283

33,220

25,779

1,17631

Any Suspension* Out-of-SchoolSuspension*

In-School Suspension Removal to othereducation program

Expulsion

19

Figure 25. Students Suspended from School by Number of Suspensions

32,458

8,544

3,5571,968

3,756

Only once 2 times 3 times 4 times 5 or more times

20

Figure 26. Students Suspended by Total Number of Days Suspended during Year

21

Figure 27. Student Suspension Rate by Offender Type

2.2%

4.9%

0.4%

1.7%

5.2%

6.7%

3.2%

1.0%

8.0%

3.7%

3.6%

2.6%

2.5%

3.6%

3.7%

Female

Male

PK - 2nd

3rd - 5th

6th - 8th

9th - 12th

American Indian

Asian, Pacific Islander

Black

Latino/a

Two or More Races

White

ELL

Not ELL

Ge

nd

erG

rad

eR

ace

Engl

ish

Lan

guag

eLe

arn

ers

Tota

l

22

Programmatic Response

Department’s Response

The Department has been working with districts to identify programs, practices and

other resources to improve school climate and social and emotional development for students

and educators. In addition, the Department continues to work with districts to ensure accurate

reporting. Some examples of this work include increased public data reporting using the SSDS,

revisions to regulations, and supports for implementation of social and emotional learning

programming and tiered systems of support.

Data Transparency and Quality

In spring 2018, the 2016-17 New Jersey School Performance Reports were made

available. In order to increase data transparency, and to adhere to Every Student Succeeds Act

(ESSA) requirements for School Report Cards, these reports contained information on the

school’s reported violence, vandalism, weapons offenses, substance offenses, and HIB

incidents. This data was based on information reported to the EVVRS system for the 2016-17

school year. The 2017-18 School Performance Reports, released on March 12, 2019, contain

additional data from the Student Safety Data System including in-school suspensions, out-of-

school suspensions, expulsions, school-related arrests, referrals to law enforcement, incidents

of violence, and incidents of bullying and harassment.

This report provides information as collected through the SSDS that has previously been

unavailable in regards to discipline reporting in New Jersey. The intention is to be responsive to

issues of current concern, such as race disparities in discipline reporting and reports to law

enforcement. In addition, the intent is that increased data transparency will help to improve

overall data quality.

23

Anti-Bullying Bill of Rights Act (ABR) Implementation

To support schools in enhancing implementation of the ABR, the Department has

completed revisions to Chapter 16 of the New Jersey Administrative Code that focuses on

programs to support student development and includes the regulations detailing the

requirements placed on schools and districts through the ABR. The most notable changes clarify

regulations applying to Approved Private Schools for Students with Disabilities (APSSD) when

there is an incident or alleged incident of bullying involving a student enrolled in an APSSD. In

addition, the amended regulations offer schools, districts and APSSDs guidance when there are

incidents or allegations of bullying that occur involving both school districts and APSSDs. The

amendments clarify existing rules for implementing the ABR to ensure all students have the

opportunity to achieve academic and behavioral success in safe and supportive learning

environments. Moving forward, the Department will provide school districts with guidance and

resources on implementation.

QSAC Revisions

In addition to the aforementioned actions, the State Board of Education recently

approved amendments to the Quality Single Accountability Continuum (QSAC) indicators that

clarify the requirements for districts related to bullying to be more robust, thus accounting for a

greater number of points for a school’s overall QSAC score. The language of the indicator

changed from, “Develops and implements policies and procedures prohibiting harassment,

intimidation and bullying (HIB); distributes them to students, parents and staff; and posts the

policies and procedures on the district's website (N.J.S.A. 18A:37-14-18 and N.J.A.C. 6A:16-7.7)”

to, “The school district implements a process to ensure the school safety/school climate team

in each school, with support from the CSA (Chief School Administrator): (1) reviews and takes

action to strengthen school climate policies; (2) educates the community, including students,

teachers, staff, and parents, to prevent HIB; (3) provides professional development

opportunities that address effective practices of successful school climate programs or

approaches; and (4) completes the HIB self-assessment. The CSA submits to the Department

the statement of assurance and the district board of education approval date for the HIB self-

24

assessment for each school in the school district by September 30. (N.J.S.A. 18A:17-46 and

18A:37-14 through 18 and N.J.A.C. 6A:16-7.7).”

Social and Emotional Learning (SEL)

The Department strongly believes in the importance of social and emotional learning (SEL) in

schools and recognizes the research that students who were taught SEL skills were less likely to

have conduct problems and engage in substance abuse. The Department continues to provide

support for the implementation of SEL in schools and the integration of the NJ SEL

Competencies and Sub-Competencies. In order to support the professional development of

educators, the Department is collaborating with the American Institute for Research and the

Mid-Atlantic Comprehensive Center to develop online SEL modules specific to NJ that will

support both school and district staff in implementing a comprehensive SEL program. There

will be a total of six modules, including an introductory module that provides a self-assessment

tool that educators can use to evaluate their own SEL competence. The other modules will

further support the implementation of the NJ SEL Competencies of self-awareness, self-

management, social awareness, responsible decision-making, and relationship skills. The

modules can be used by educators seeking to integrate SEL into their classrooms or during

professional learning communities (PLCs). Along with the modules, there will be a facilitator’s

guide and resources that support the content being presented. In addition to professional

development, the Department recognized the need for districts to tailor the SEL programming

in response to the context of their local community. Schools are embedding school-wide

activities that emphasize the SEL competencies, integrating SEL skills in their instruction, and

incorporating SEL in their efforts to build positive school climates.

School Climate Improvement

The Department has been active in supporting school climate improvement and

proactively addressing student behavior by implementing the New Jersey Positive

Behavior Supports in Schools (NJPBSIS) initiative, which includes training and technical

assistance. In addition, the Department has accepted its third cohort into the School

Climate Transformation Project. Currently there are 30 schools participating in the

http://www.njpbs.org/http://www.njpbs.org/

25

project. During the three years of project participation, schools receive tailored

consultative services and training from Graduate School of Applied and Professional

Psychology at Rutgers University staff to effectively apply a six-step school climate change

process. Schools participating in the project utilize the New Jersey School Climate Survey

to assess the conditions for learning, and in response, develop school climate

improvement plans to address specific needs.

New Jersey Tiered System of Supports (NJTSS)

The NJTSS is a framework for maximizing all students’ receipt of effective reading

instruction that is based on their skill needs. In addition, it is a mechanism to reduce

unnecessary referrals for special education and to enhance the range of opportunities for

students with IEPs to be educated with their nondisabled peers. Grant activities enhanced

NJTSS, the state’s model of multi-tiered system of supports (MTSS), and practices in schools by

bringing general and special educators together through leadership teams to analyze data and

align resources and instruction and interventions planning. Specifically, the development of a

universal screening protocol and expansion of Tier 1 instructional strategies moved schools

toward an integrated approach to supporting all students. Intensive, high quality professional

learning conducted by Rutgers University-New Brunswick project leads resulted in increased

knowledge and capacity of state-level staff for empowering educators to apply the principles of

improvement science and to use data to enhance services to students. Intensive, research-

based coaching by project staff enhanced knowledge of district and school personnel in early

reading development and essential components of the NJTSS, which aligns with most models of

response to intervention (RTI) and MTSS.

School leadership team members increased skills with respect to (a) promoting active

involvement of school personnel in implementing an MTSS framework for reading support; (b)

selecting and administering effective screening tools; (c) interpreting reading screening data;

(d) utilizing student benchmark data to guide refinements and supplements to core instruction;

and (e) utilizing classroom observations to evaluate curriculum-alignment and consistency in

implementation. These team members also worked to formalize practices in their schools for

implementing screening and data-based instructional decisions.

https://www.state.nj.us/education/students/safety/behavior/njscs/

26

A partnership that included the State Parent Advocacy Network (SPAN), project partners

on family engagement, and staff representing federal programs (Title 1, Title 3, and 21st century

Afterschool Programs) and other state staff responsible for engaging families in school activities

resulted in development of a tool for school leadership teams to utilize to assess and improve

family and school partnerships. These resources will also be shared with schools in need of

comprehensive and targeted support, as well as statewide, to facilitate stakeholders

involvement in the development, implementation, and evaluation of school improvement

strategies and interventions.

The Department transitioned to new leadership during this project period. Project

activities and goals, however, align with the new agenda of fairness and equity for all students

and strengthening teaching, leading and learning in all schools across the state.

Department’s Objectives for the 2018-19 School Year

The Department will continue to support the initiatives detailed within this report

including the school climate survey, social-emotional learning, and the New Jersey Tiered

Systems of Support (NJTSS), which provide districts with the necessary tools to address

incidents of HIB and safety within schools. Also, in the summer of 2018 the Department

launched the School Safety Specialist Academy to provide training to the designated school

safety specialist in every school district, as required by state statute. In addition, the state’s

Fiscal Year 2019 budget increased school-security funding with an additional $87.4 million in

school security aid, allowing districts the flexibility to support school safety initiatives that fit

the needs of their schools. The state budget also earmarked $75 per student in school security

funding for nonpublic schools.