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District Anti-Bullying Coordinator (ABC) – This is the school district staff member who is
responsible for coordinating and strengthening the school district’s anti-bullying policies. The
ABC must work closely with each school anti-bullying specialist, the chief school administrator
and the board of education. The ABC is responsible for reporting information on the amount and
type of bullying incidents that occur within the district to the board of education and to the
NJDOE, among other duties.
Hazing – Activities that “newcomers” must do before they can belong to a group. Hazing is
used to maintain a hierarchy or pecking order within a group. Hazing usually is based on a
tradition, where a lower group member or person who wants to join the group agrees or goes
along with the hazing activities, which may be physically, psychologically or socially harmful.
Parent – As defined in N.J.A.C. 6A:16-1.3, the term “parent” means the natural parent(s),
adoptive parent(s), legal guardian(s), foster parent(s) or parent surrogate(s) of a student. If
parents are separated or divorced, "parent" means the person or agency with legal custody of the
student, and any natural or adoptive parent(s) of the student, as long as their parental rights have
not been ended by the court.
Principal – The highest level administrator within a school building who is responsible for all
educational programs and services in the school, including overseeing all staff and students in
the school. The principal is responsible for starting investigations of all reported incidents of
bullying, notifying the parents of children involved in the incidents and reporting the findings to
the chief school administrator, among other duties in the ABR.
School Anti-Bullying Specialist (ABS) – The main school staff member responsible for
preventing, identifying and addressing bullying incidents within his or her school. The ABS is
responsible for leading a school’s safety team and for investigating reported incidents of
bullying, among other duties in the ABR.
School Grounds – As defined in N.J.A.C. 6A:16-1.3, school grounds includes any land, portions
of land, structures, buildings and vehicles used by a school district to provide academic or
extracurricular programs that are sponsored by the school district. School grounds also include
playgrounds, recreational places and other places that are owned by other groups or people, when
the school district is the only one using this land. The complete definition is available at
http://www.state.nj.us/education/code/current/title6a/chap16.pdf.
School Safety Team (SST) – A group of people in each public school chosen by the school’s
principal, who are responsible for maintaining a positive and safe school environment. The
principal selects the members of the SST, which must include the principal or a staff person
chosen by the principal, a teacher, the school anti-bullying specialist, a parent and any other
members the principal believes are important to be on the SST.
“Upstander” – Students and other people who take an active role in stopping the bullying of
others. This is done either by not encouraging the bullies, by reaching out to the victim, by
telling someone who can stop the bully or by taking other actions that can help the victim or stop
the bullying.
Victim – A student who is harassed, intimidated or bullied by another student or an adult.