State Examines Impact Of Year Old Bullying Law

Friday marks the one-year anniversary of the passage of Massachusetts’ anti-bullying law.

The law — which followed the suicides of two Massachusetts youths — prohibits bullying, including over the internet, and requires schools employees to report bullying incidents to principals, who are mandated to investigate.

One of the students whose suicide led to the state’s antibullying law was Phoebe Prince. She was a 15-year-old student at South Hadley High School. Following her death, six students were charged, and the case made headlines around the world. Five of those students were charged with various crimes related to bullying Phoebe Prince and faced serious jail time if convicted. But, as the Boston Globe has been reporting this week, the case may finally be approaching an end, with many of those charges dropped.

Guests:

• John Guilfoil, reporter, Boston Globe