2016-2017 Student Handbook | Page 54

and/or web-based reporting mechanisms. For anonymous reporting, the district may consider locked boxes located in areas of a school where reports can be submitted without fear of being observed. A school administrator who receives a report of harassment, intimidation, and bullying from a district employee, and fails to initiate or conduct an investigation, or who should have known of an incident of harassment, intimidation, or bullying and fails to take sufficient action to minimize or eliminate the harassment, intimidation, or bullying, may be subject to disciplinary action. F. Anti-Bullying Coordinator, Anti-Bullying Specialist, and School Safety Team(s) 1. The Superintendent shall appoint a district Anti-Bullying Coordinator. The Superintendent shall make very effort to appoint an employee of the school district to this position. The district Anti-Bullying Coordinator shall: a. Be responsible for coordinating and strengthening the school district's policies to prevent, identify, and address harassment, intimidation, or bullying of students; b. Collaborate with school Anti-Bullying Specialists in the district, the Board of Education, and the Superintendent to prevent, identify, and respond to harassment, intimidation, or bullying of students in the district; c. Provide data, in collaboration with the Superintendent, to the Department of Education regarding harassment, intimidation, or bullying of students; d. Execute such other duties related to school harassment, intimidation, or bullying as requested by the Superintendent; and e. Meet at least twice a school year with the school Anti-Bullying Specialist(s) to discuss and strengthen procedures and policies to prevent, identify, and address harassment, intimidation, and bullying in the district. 2. The Principal in each school shall appoint a school Anti-Bullying Specialist. The Anti-Bullying Specialist shall be a guidance counselor, school psychologist, or other certified staff member trained to be the Anti-Bullying Specialist from among the currently employed staff in the school. The school Anti-Bullying Specialist shall: a. b. c. 3. Chair the School Safety Team as provided in N.J.S.A. 18A:37-21; Lead the investigation of incidents of harassment, intimidation, or bullying in the school; and Act as the primary school official responsible for preventing, identifying, and addressing incidents of harassment, intimidation, or bullying in the school. A School Safety Team shall be formed in each school in the district to develop, foster, and maintain a positive school climate by focusing on the on-going, systemic operational procedures and educational practices in the school, and to address issues such as harassment, intimidation, or bullying that affect school climate and culture. Each School Safety Team shall meet, at a minimum, two times per school year. The School Safety Team shall consist of the Principal or the Principal’s designee who, if possible, shall be a senior administrator in the school and the following appointees of the Principal: a teacher in the school; a school Anti-Bullying Specialist; a parent of a student in the school; and other members to be determined by the Principal. The school Anti-Bullying Specialist shall serve as the chair of the School Safety Team. The School Safety Team shall: a. Receive records of all complaints of harassment, intimidation, or bullying of students that have been reported to the Principal; b. Receive copies of all reports prepared after an investigation of an incident of harassment, intimidation, or bullying; c. Identify and address patterns of harassment, intimidation, or bullying of students in the school; d. Review and strengthen school climate and the policies of the school in order to prevent and address harassment, intimidation, or bullying of students; e. Educate the community, including students, teachers, administrative staff, and parents, to prevent and address harassment, intimidation, or bullying of students; f. Participate in the training required pursuant to the provisions of N.J.S.A. 18A:37-13 et seq. and other training which the Principal or the district Anti-Bullying Coordinator may request. The School Safety Team shall be provided professional development opportunities that may address effective practices of successful school climate programs or approaches; and g. Execute such other duties related to harassment, intimidation, or bullying as requested by the Principal or district Anti-Bullying Coordinator. Notwithstanding any provision of N.J.S.A. 18A:37-21 to the contrary, a parent who is a member of the School Safety Team shall not participate in the activities of the team set forth in 3. a., b., or c. above or any other activities of the team which may compromise the confidentiality of a student, consistent with, at a minimum, the requirements of the Family Educational 54| P a g e