BERNE — A new form is available for students to report bullying incidents at the Berne-Knox-Westerlo School District.

Parents and school staff met this summer to develop the form, known as the Student Incident Reporting Form, Superintendent Timothy Mundell said in a statement provided by district communications specialist Cuyle Rockwell. The forms were introduced this fall.

In the form, students may put in the date, time, and location of the incident; list anyone who was involved or saw what happened; describe what occurred; and they may write whom they wish to speak to about the incident.

Mundell said in his statement that, while the district had procedures in place for reporting incidents as the state requires, the school wanted to make the process easier for students. Forms are available online or in school offices.

“We recognize that not every student has access to the internet or to a printer, so we are exploring placing forms in folders in classrooms or other places in the buildings where students can anonymously access them,” Mundell wrote.

New York State requires schools to report incidents of harassment, bullying, and discrimination to the state under the Dignity for All Students Act, as well as reporting incidents through Violent or Disruptive Incident Reporting. The district has been criticized by some parents for not reporting incidents to the state, while Mundell has maintained that not all incidents meet the state’s criteria.

The form was developed after the district offered to have parents and community members join shared-decision-making committees to help review the district’s code of conduct. The invitation was made the same day a parent complained that she and other parents had witnessed students being bullied with little help from the district.