The Flemington-Raritan Regional School District presented its 2024–25 self-assessments under New Jersey’s Anti-Bullying Bill of Rights and reported that all six schools scored well on the annual rubric, while reported incidents fell compared with the prior school year.

Vanessa Ahmed, the district anti-bullying coordinator and vice principal at RFIS, described the self-assessment process used by each school’s school safety/school climate team. Ahmed said each school committee rates 26 rubric indicators across eight core elements; indicators are scored 1 (partially meeting), 2 (meeting) or 3 (exceeding). Ahmed presented the district’s totals: Barley Sheaf 75, Copper Hill 76, Francis A. DeMar 76, Robert Hunter 76, Reading-Fleming Intermediate School (RFIS) 76 and J.P. Case Middle School 76. Ahmed noted a perfect score under the rubric would be 78 and that a score of 52 would indicate a school met requirements on every indicator with a score of 2.

Superintendent Dr. Burns presented required reporting on incidents of violence, vandalism, substance use, weapons and Harassment, Intimidation and Bullying (HIB) for the January–June reporting period and summarized trends for the 2024–25 school year. Burns told the board the district recorded a total of 27 incidents in the reporting period and that districtwide totals had dropped substantially compared with 2023–24: total incidents down 45 percent, violence down 34 percent, vandalism down 33 percent and confirmed HIB incidents down 38 percent.

Ahmed and Burns outlined district strengths — extensive HIB-related programs and trainings and robust incident-reporting procedures — and areas of growth, including continued work with school climate teams and parent education about the HIB definition and process. Ahmed said parents signoff language about HIB is included in the district’s annual Genesis login process and that the district provides trainings and documentation to meet state requirements.

The board reviewed the self-assessment grades and incident report as part of the Instruction and Program committee update. Committee members recommended continuing professional development and time for school climate teams, which the district has included in professional-development planning.

Board members asked clarifying questions about scoring (the highest possible score of 78 reflects 26 indicators scored up to 3) and about how the district communicates HIB criteria to families. Administration said the district will continue to refine parent outreach and to use school climate teams to develop school-level action plans.