ABERDEEN TOWNSHIP, N.J. (AP) — A New Jersey school superintendent says there’s no policy against hugging in the district, and says the issue of middle schoolers being told by their principal not to hug each other anymore is being blown out of proportion.
The district says Matawan-Aberdeen Middle School Principal Tyler Blackmore made an announcement that students were in a “no hugging school” following some “incidents of unsuitable, physical interactions.”
School Superintendent David Healy says the district has the responsibility to teach children about appropriate interactions. But he says no one would be disciplined for hugging.
The superintendent says he believes the principal acted responsibly in making the recent school announcement regarding hugging. Students range in ages from 11 to 14 in grades six to eight.
