Anti-Bullying Law ready for Devals signature

The bill requires mandatory training for school officials beginning next year. Under the law, public and private schools must offer anti-bullying curriculum, schools must create a bullying intervention plan, and principals are mandated to investigate complaints and report results to parents.

Police must also be alerted if the abuse could be deemed criminal harassment, stalking, witness intimidation or annoying telephone calls.

The bill does not impose fines or other penalties for school officials who fail to report bullying, nor does it explicitly make bullying a crime.

While this Bill may make Beacon Hill proud, it still lacks any teeth and does not hold parents responsible for their children's actions. Sufficient laws are already on the books no matter the age of the parties involved. Perhaps bullying curriculum will be added to the MCAS tests. If responsible adults had only intervened in these past cases, another useless law would not have been enacted.