NJ School Violence, Bullying Up Over Pre-Pandemic, DOE Report Says

NEW JERSEY - Violence, bullying, weapons and substance use reports in New Jersey schools are all up compared to the last pre-pandemic year, according to the latest data published by the New Jersey Department of Education.

The data reflects incidents from the 2021-22 school year, which saw reports of violence, drug use and bullying increase 8.6, 6.5 and 6.8 percent, respectively. The largest type of report increase concerned weapons, which rose over 48% from 2018-19 to 2021-22.

The total number of reported incidents increased 8.7%, with incidents per 100 students rising from 2 to 2.18.

8,170 incidents were reported to the police, resulting in 552 student school-related arrests, according to the New Jersey Department of Education’s Student Safety and Discipline Report, which was released last month. Nearly 900 weapons incidents involved a knife; 57 incidents included an air/BB gun and 14 included a handgun. Weapons overall were used 99 times during the school year.

Related: Clark Schools, Police Release Update On Student With Gun Incident

48 sexual assault incidents, nine robbery/extortion incidents and one kidnapping were also reported in the 2021-22 school year.

Of the 6,639 substance reports, marijuana was found nearly 4,400 times and drug paraphernalia was found 1,215 times. Alcohol was found 256 times, designer/synthetic drugs were found 62 times and heroin was found three times, according to the DOE data.

17,331 harassment, bullying and intimidation investigations resulted in 7,672 confirmed incidents, over half of which occurred in middle schools. Most of the incidents included verbal harassment, bullying or intimidation (6,222 incidents); another 1,563 incidents were physical and 1,499 incidents occurred via electronic means. Most of the incidents also took place on school grounds (79%), with another 9% occurring both on and off school grounds.

Only about half of incidents resulted in a suspension and/or parent conference, while 6,000 offenders received student counseling. 575 “other discipline” methods were used, though those methods were not detailed in the data. Four expulsions stemmed from HIB incidents.

“Though suspensions are common, schools often report other disciplinary actions for HIB offenders rather than removing the student from school,” the Student Safety and Discipline Report reads. “Student counseling for both offenders and victims is the most common remedial action.”

There were 1,727 confirmed racially-motivated HIB incidents, with another 1,052 sexual orientation-motivated HIB incidents and 1,261 gender-motivated HIB incidents. However, the motives behind 3,918 incidents, or about half of the confirmed HIB incidents, are labeled as "other" or "no identified nature."

The report comes just weeks before the family of Bayville teenager Adriana Kuch filed a lawsuit against the Central Regional High School District, alleging the district, school officials and former superintendent Triantafillos Parlapanides knew there was a bullying problem and did nothing to prevent it.

Last year, a video of Kuch being attacked in the hallways of Central Regional High School spread on social media; two days later, the 14-year-old took her own life. Read more: Family Of Bullied Bayville Teen Sues District 1 Year After Her Death

The district did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The latest school safety report emphasized the coronavirus pandemic's "significant impact on their mental health and their ability to navigate their relationships with others, adding the DOE has issued guidance throughout the pandemic "encouraging districts to prioritize the social and emotional well-being of their staff and students."

The report also recommended social and emotional learning (SEL) in schools, pointing to research supporting that students taught SEL in schools were less likely to have conduct and substance issues.

“With the return to full in-person instruction, the Department continued its efforts to support districts in identifying programs, practices, and other resources to improve school climate, support social and emotional development and support the mental health needs of students and educators,” the report reads.

“Some examples of this work include the Department’s ongoing focus on supporting youth mental health, promoting social and emotional learning, and trauma-informed approaches, providing tools and training for improving school climate and positive behavioral supports, increasing public data reporting ... and expanding resources for New Jersey’s Tiered System of Supports initiative (NJTSS).”

The next school performance report, this time compiling 2022-23 data, is slated to be published around April.