On Wednesday, May 27, the New Jersey Department of Education (NJDOE) announced the opening of the 2025-2026 School Self-Assessment for Determining Grades under the Anti-Bullying Bill of Rights Act (ABR). Schools submit local information into the online Self-Assessment program, and the data is used to grade the efforts of each public school and district to implement the ABR pursuant to N.J.S.A.18A:17-46. The deadline to submit the Self-Assessments is October 31, 2026.
Key Steps/Actions
The school safety/school climate team in each school is required to complete the Self-Assessment and have a school-level user enter the school’s ratings into the online system that is accessed by selecting the “HIB-Grades” link on the NJDOE Homeroom webpage. The district-level user must review the Self-Assessment for accuracy and request each school make any changes as necessary.
The chief school administrator, charter school lead person or renaissance school project lead person is responsible for presenting each completed Self-Assessment at a public board of education (BOE) meeting for public comment and BOE approval. Once BOE approval is granted, the chief school administrator, charter school or renaissance school project lead person formally submits the ratings by certifying the Statement of Assurances in the Self-Assessment system.
To assist schools to meet the requirements of this program, the NJDOE posted online guidance documents and resources that include an “Activities Checklist.” If a completed, certified Self-Assessment is not submitted by the October 31, 2026 deadline, the NJDOE may issue a zero (0) for that school’s grade, which will negatively impact the district’s grade.
Contact Information
For questions, please email HIBGrades@doe.nj.gov.
