69ý

School Climate & Safety

N.J.'s Bullying Law Yielding First Data

By McClatchy-Tribune — October 09, 2012 1 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print
Email Copy URL

More than 12,000 incidents of bullying were reported by schools during the 2011-12 school year under New Jersey’s new state anti-bullying law, the state department of education reports. But an advocate who helped draft that law said the actual number of incidents may be much higher.

The report, issued last week, acknowledges that there are discrepancies in the number of harassment, intimidation, and bullying reports, possibly because the procedures are new and more training is needed.

Statewide, districts reported conducting 35,553 investigations and confirming almost 40 percent of them as harassment, intimidation, and bullying incidents.

“We must remain vigilant in our efforts to work toward better identification and reporting from our schools and districts,” state Education Commissioner Chris Cerf said in a statement.

But Stuart Green, the executive director of the New Jersey Coalition for Bullying Awareness and Prevention, said that while he is glad the reporting is creating greater awareness of bullying, he has no confidence in the reported numbers.

“The [reporting system] is fatally flawed,” he said. “It is still self-reported by the districts.” He added, “the more we take this system seriously, the more validity we give it.”

The report provides some insight into how bullying takes place in school. More than 70 percent of incidents, almost 8,600, were in the form of an insult that demeaned a student or group of students. Almost 78 percent of the incidents were verbal, while 19 percent were physical.

Some incidents include more than one form of bullying; 12 percent were through electronic communication and 7 percent were written notes.

A student’s sexual orientation was the basis for 11 percent of incidents, gender accounted for 10 percent, a disability for 9 percent, and race for 8 percent. More than 60 percent were based on what was categorized as “another distinguishing characteristic.”

The report found that bullying took place in a variety of places in and outside of school buildings, including classrooms, hallways, cafeterias, and on school buses.

Disciplinary action primarily involved detention or suspension, according to the report.

A version of this article appeared in the October 10, 2012 edition of Education Week as N.J.'s Bullying Law Yielding First Data

Events

This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Artificial Intelligence Webinar
AI and Educational Leadership: Driving Innovation and Equity
Discover how to leverage AI to transform teaching, leadership, and administration. Network with experts and learn practical strategies.
Content provided by 
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
School Climate & Safety Webinar
Investing in Success: Leading a Culture of Safety and Support
Content provided by 
Assessment K-12 Essentials Forum Making Competency-Based Learning a Reality
Join this free virtual event to hear from educators and experts working to implement competency-based education.

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.

Read Next

School Climate & Safety Opinion Restorative Justice, the Classroom, and Policy: Can We Resolve the Tension?
Student discipline is one area where school culture and the rules don't always line up.
8 min read
The United States Capitol building as a bookcase filled with red, white, and blue policy books in a Washington DC landscape.
Luca D'Urbino for Education Week
School Climate & Safety Letter to the Editor School Safety Should Be Built In, Not Tacked On
69ý and communities must address ways to prevent school violence by first working with people, says this letter to the editor.
1 min read
Education Week opinion letters submissions
Gwen Keraval for Education Week
School Climate & Safety Opinion How One Big City District Is Addressing the Middle East Conflict
Partnerships are helping the Philadelphia schools better support all students and staff, writes Superintendent Tony B. Watlington Sr.
Tony B. Watlington Sr.
4 min read
Young people protesting with signs.
DigitalVision Vectors/Getty
School Climate & Safety 69ý Feel Less Connected to School. Here's Why That Matters
There's a body of research that points to a number of benefits when students feel close to people at school.
3 min read
An illustration of a black broken chain link on a red background.
iStock/Getty