Bullying Prevention Month: What The Brick Schools Are Doing

BRICK, NJ — With school back in session, bullying issues are a prime topic once more. Schools are on the front lines of dealing with the problem that affects thousands of children across the country every year.

October is National Bullying Prevention Month, and schools are putting emphasis on efforts to stop bullying. That includes the Brick Township School District, which has had a variety of programs this week for the Week of Respect.

Students across the district wore yellow to remind them of the Golden Rule — Do unto others as you would have done unto you — and they donned crazy outfits to remind each other to respect differences.

Emma Havens students said "Hats Off to Being Kind," while Osbornville students "Put a Cap on Bullying." Herbertsville students donned numbered shirts to remind each other that "Everyone Counts." And students signed anti-bullying pledges and were reminded of the "Bystander Effect."

Schools in New Jersey have some of the toughest anti-bullying regulations in the country, under the Anti-Bullying Bill Of Rights. Schools are required to report all instances of harassment, intimidation and bullying (known as HIB incidents), and provide detailed information about their bullying statistics.

A state Department of Education report on student safety and discipline in the schools in 2017-18 reported there were 18,741 HIB investigations and 7,522 confirmed HIB incidents reported by schools.

• Of those, 81 percent happened on school grounds; 699 resulted in police involvement. Middle school accounted for 56 percent of the confirmed HIB incidents, with 18 percent happening in elementary schools.
• 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.
• For 55 percent of confirmed HIB incidents, the nature of the bullying did not fit into one of the protected categories listed.
• 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.
• Schools reported 18,556 HIB trainings for staff in 2017-18 and 25,784 HIB programs for students in 2017-18.

In the 2016-17 school year, there were 18,235 bullying investigations with 6,802 confirmed HIB incidents, according to the education department.

In Brick, there were 30 confirmed HIB cases among 8,924 students in the district in the 2016-2017 school year, according to the state report.

The problem isn’t isolated to just New Jersey. National statistics vary, but an aggregate of 80 different studies on bullying suggests one in five American students between 12 and 18 is bullied at some point during their middle or high school years. Traditional bullying — name calling, public humiliation, isolation, physical violence and that sort of thing — occurs most often, with 35 percent of kids reporting they’ve been targeted in one of those ways. The studies cited by the PACER Center, which established National Bullying Prevention Month, show that 15 percent of kids surveyed report being cyberbullied.

Among the marquee National Bullying Prevention Month activities is Unity Day, observed on Wednesday, Oct. 24, when everyone is encouraged to wear and show orange to send a message that no child should ever experience bullying.

“Orange provides a powerful, visually compelling expression of solidarity,” Paula Goldberg, the executive director of the PACER Center, said in a statement. “Whether it’s hundreds of individuals at a school wearing orange, store owners offering orange products or a community changing a landmark to orange, the vibrant statement becomes a conversation starter, sending the supportive, universal message that bullying is never acceptable behavior.”

Here’s more about Unity Day:

We want to hear from you. Do you have a story to tell about bullying or cyberbullying, a suggestion about how to stem it or an event to publicize? Comment at the end of the story, or email karen.wall@patch.com and copy bullies@patch.com.

Laws In New Jersey

Although New Jersey’s Anti-Bullying Bill Of Rights is one of the strictest anti-bullying laws in the nation, we could soon see the laws become even more stringent.

"Mallory's Law,"which aims to strengthen the current laws by forcing parental involvement, was recently approved unanimously by the State Senate.

Under the new bill, parents could face civil liabilities if they show "blatant disregard of supervising their child, (or) if their child has been judged to be delinquent of harassment or cyber harassment," a news release says, and parents would be subject to anti-bullying education classes.

The reporting and notification process for bullying incidents would be expanded: any accounts of bullying would be sent to the executive county superintendent and the parents of any students involved.

Any student found guilty of bullying would have the incident placed on their permanent record. After three proven bullying incidents, a student and their parents would be required to attend an anti-bullying training session, and law enforcement would be notified to see if any crimes were committed.

THE MENACE OF BULLIES: PATCH ADVOCACY REPORTING PROJECT

As part of a national reporting project, Patch has been looking at society's roles and responsibilities in bullying.

Do you have a story to tell? Email us at bullies@patch.com, or share your views in the comments.

With reporting by Deb Belt and Katie Kausch, Patch Staff

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