Glossary
Anti-Bullying Bill of Rights Act (ABR) – New Jersey’s anti-bullying law that includes the requirements school districts and schools must follow in preventing and responding to harassment, intimidation and bullying. The ABR is the basis for this guide. It is available on the New Jersey Legislature’s website. ABR
Bully – A student or an adult who harasses, intimidates or bullies another person(s), where the behavior is one-sided. Harassment, intimidation or bullying will also be written as “HIB” to mean bullying in this guide.
Bullying – Refers to harassment, intimidation and bullying (HIB) as it is defined in the ABR.
Bullying usually involves conduct where one or more students are victims of another person’s aggression that has not been caused by the victims and emotionally or physically harms the victims and disrupts the educational process.
Bystanders – Students and other people who witness bullying, and who do or say nothing to stop it or help the victims.
Conflict – A disagreement, argument, fight or other action between people when they want different things and everyone is equally involved. Conflict may look similar to bullying, but is different.
Cyberbullying – A form of bullying that involves the use of electronic equipment, such as computers and cell phones. An example could include sending hurtful or unwanted text messages to another person’s cell phone.
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 is usually 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.
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.