Two School Districts Scramble To Create Anti-Bullying Plan

BOSTON — While 390 out of 393 public school districts and charter schools have complied with the deadline set by a new state law aimed at curbing bullying in schools, two public school districts in unusual circumstances are finding it hard to meet state demands to come up with an anti-bullying plan that meets their needs.

The least-populated town in the state, Cuttyhunk, is one of two public school districts scrambling to pull together an anti-bullying plan after missing the Dec. 31 deadline. The island community of Cuttyhunk has only four students in its one-room schoolhouse.

The other is the Massachusetts Academy of Math and Science in Worcester.

That school's director, Robert Salvatelli, said it is challenging to design a plan for a school in its own district with no school committee.

"It isn't like we're ignoring the state. We're just trying to find a boiler plate that fits our program to the state's demands," Salvatelli said.

Cuttyhunk Schools Superintendent Russell Latham said his district will file a plan, even though he doesn't expect bullying to be an issue.

"Four kids come from two families. Parents are involved in the school. Almost all things are nipped in the bud and it's very much a family situation," he said.

Both school districts said they will submit a plan to the state within the next few days.

Earlier: