Committee approves updated bullying intervention and prevention plan; language aligned with state statute

The School Committee unanimously approved proposed updates to the Marblehead Public Schools Bullying Intervention and Prevention Plan, district staff said. The updates align plan language with Massachusetts statute, including replacing terms such as "victim" with "target" and "perpetrator" with "aggressor," and add procedural clarifications for timely parent notification.

Lisa Marie (district administrator) said the plan had been reviewed by the district attorney (Matt McAvoy) and that most edits were grammatical or statutory-language updates. She said staff training will be added to mandatory ARISed (district professional development) sessions at the start of the school year and that principals will receive a presentation for building-level rollout. The plan will be posted on the district website and the IT department will work to make it more prominent.

Lisa Marie also noted one substantive correction: parents of both the alleged target and the alleged aggressor will be notified "prior to the investigation starting," not only after investigation conclusion; administrators said they would make that change before final publication.

The motion to accept the updated plan passed 4–0. The administration said it will include the plan in staff training and publish the updated document on the district website.