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PLYMOUTH — Efforts to end bullying have engaged legislators as well as educators.
The state Senate last week passed an anti-bullying bill that would ban bullying in public and private schools.
Senate President Therese Murray, D-Plymouth, said the bill should make a dramatic difference by striking out fear in the classroom and on the bus.
The legislation prohibits physical, verbal and written acts that threaten or cause harm to another student, including Internet cyberbullying.
The bill requires school districts, charter schools and non-public schools to develop prevention and intervention plans and include procedures for investigating bullying incidents, notifying parents and determining appropriate disciplinary action. The legislation comes in response to the recent suicide of a girl from Hadley who was bullied by fellow students at school and on the Internet.
The bill requires school principals to notify law enforcement of bullying incidents if there is reason to believe criminal charges may be pursued. It also allows Individualized Education Programs for children with special needs to include provisionsthat will help them handle and respond to bullying.
The bullying ban would extend to all school facilities, school-sponsored functions, school buses and bus stops.
Murray said the bill is an important first step toward addressing an increasingly troubling issue while recognizing the main offenders are still only children.
“No one wants to see a child criminally charged,” Murray said. “These are kids, and kids do stupid things. But when you start to talk about how they can impact other kids you begin the dialogue that hopefully, eventually will change the culture.”
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The legislation must still be approved by House of Representatives, which is expected to begin considering the bill in a couple of weeks.
State Rep. Vinny deMacedo, R-Plymouth, anticipates debate on including criminal sanctions to the bill, noting the difficulty of drawing the line of criminal activity.
But deMacedo said the requirements for anti-bullying policies make a good first step and opportunity to educate the public about an important issue.
Locally, school officials already refer incidents of bullying to police. In many cases, the police are the first to know, processing initial reports through one of the three school resource officers assigned to the high and middle schools.
The department has investigated numerous complaints, including several alleged threats, and has yet to encounter any instance of a widespread danger. Rather, the complaints have identified problems between individual students and set in motion intervention plans with counselors.
Chief Michael Botieri said any help police can get from legislators in identifying school problems at an early stage would be appreciated.
“Early intervention is huge for us. Anything they can do to recognize problems earlier than later is always a plus,” Botieri said. “And if it rises to the point of hazing, we will investigate it under existing law. We have little tolerance for it."
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