Committee hears bullying update; three substantiated high‑school incidents this year
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Summary
School principals reported no substantiated bullying at the elementary and intermediate schools but said the high school has three documented and investigated bullying incidents this year; other peer conflicts were investigated but did not meet the district's bullying criteria.
School principals told the Nantucket School Committee on Feb. 4 that the district has seen peer conflicts and reports but few formal bullying findings this school year.
"We have no incidences of bullying," the elementary principal said, adding that the district teaches bullying within social‑emotional-learning curricula and that specific criteria determine whether a behavior meets the legal definition of bullying. The intermediate‑school principal said the district receives more reports than substantiations and stressed the distinction "between bullying and bad behavior."
"We do have three documented, investigated, incidences of bullying this year" at the high school, the high‑school principal reported. The high‑school principal said the school had additional peer‑conflict and harassment issues that were investigated but did not meet the district's criteria for bullying; in those incidents staff still developed safety plans where appropriate.
Why it matters: The principals emphasized the district's process for distinguishing peer conflict from bullying and noted that substantiation requires targeted, repeated behavior that meets the established criteria. Committee members asked no follow-up questions in the Feb. 4 discussion.
Ending: The committee received the update; no discipline appeals or policy changes were reported during this session.