From:
http://www.njpen.com/collingswood-s...-in-controversy-refine-discipline-roles/The Collingswood school district is no longer expected to refer universally its discipline issues to local police for investigation, except in dealing with “the most serious of crimes,” according to a joint letter issued today by local law enforcement, government, school representatives, and the Office of the Camden County Prosecutor (CCPO).
The school district will continue to follow the statewide Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) outlined by the New Jersey Department of Education and Office of the Attorney General for such instances, but “in all other matters, school officials have complete authority to exercise their discretion” under the rules of the MoA “before deciding to report the matter to law enforcement.”
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Not about brownies
The letter also made special mention of the “brownie incident” so widely reported by Philly.com and others, in which police were called to investigate remarks made by a third-grade student at Tatem Elementary School. It describes the student’s comments as “much more incendiary than what has been reported,” and notes that the matter remains under investigation by law enforcement.
“The county and local law enforcement support that the school called the police,” Maley said. “What happened is not what’s being reported. Folks are looking at it, that’s all. And it’s reasonable.”
Oswald said that the stories that have emerged from that incident “couldn’t be further from the truth.
“It wasn’t a comment about a brownie at all in terms of offending an individual,” he said. “It was a comment that immediately rose to the level of an HIB [Harrassment, Intimidation, and Bullying] investigation.”
The superintendent acknowledged that third-grade students can “say things that need to be a learning experience,” but concluded that school staff “did absolutely the right thing by calling the police.”
Collingswood Board of Education President David Routzahn commented that “not only did administrators act properly, but they acted in a manner consistent with ensuring the health and safety of our students.
“We can’t discuss details of it, but I heard for the first time today what was actually said,” Routzahn said. “It is, as it says in the statement, much more incendiary than what is being reported. I was glad that the prosecutor’s office acknowledged that it was handled properly.”
