S. Hadley students say bullying continues

SOUTH HADLEY, Mass. -- School may be out for the summer, but concerns about bullying continue in South Hadley.

Students in South Hadley said bullying continues in schools even after the suicides of two students prompted new anti-bullying laws in the state.

The parent of one middle school student is seeking criminal charges.

According to the parent, her 12-year-old boy has been picked on, punched and slammed into lockers right up to the end of the school year in June.

"Why the school didn't take the appropriate measures as outlined in their own handbook is still a question," said Beth Coushaine, the mother of the alleged victim.

In May, Gov. Deval Patrick signed one of the most far-reaching anti-bullying bills in the country after Phoebe Prince, a 15-year-old student at South Hadley High School, committed suicide in January amidst allegations that she was relentlessly bullied.

The new Massachusetts law requires teachers and staff members to report bullying and then for the school to investigate.

The law won’t be finalized until September, but Coushaine and her attorney, Abigail Williams, say they want justice now.

"It is outrageous that things should get to the point where they now have to be handled in a courtroom when they could just as easily, and more appropriately, have been handled by the school," added Abigail Williams, the attorney for the alleged victim.

A hearing on the case has been set for July 15.

In the Phoebe Prince case, six students were charged, ranging from statutory rape to civil rights violations. With the regards to the incident, an allegedly three-month verbally abusive ordeal, prosecutors say at least one faculty member at South Hadley High School witnessed but never reported the alleged bullying.

Prince’s mother also maintains she spoke with at least two staff members about the torment her daughter was facing at school.

Three parents are suing the South Hadley School Committee for how they handled the bullying and suicide of Prince. In light of the tragedy, the School Committee has been meeting to discuss a new bullying policy for the school.

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