Phoebe’s school settles case with parents

OFFICIALS at the school attended by Phoebe Prince have settled a previously undisclosed discrimination case taken by the young Irish girl’s parents.

Anne O’Brien and Jeremy Prince filed a complaint against the local school board, the superintendent, the principal and vice principal, accusing them of discrimination for allegedly failing to deal with the sexual harassment of their child.

Six now former students of South Hadley High School in Massachusetts face criminal charges linked to the alleged physical and verbal abuse of Phoebe in the weeks and days leading up to her suicide in January this year.

It has also emerged that federal prosecutors are investigating the events leading up to Phoebe’s death and what happened after, including allegations that handwritten notes detailing the harassment and bullying were destroyed.

The 15-year-old, who moved to the US from Co Clare, killed herself just hours after being subjected to vicious abuse in front of dozens of her fellow students, one of the final acts of a virulent campaign lasting weeks, according to prosecutors.

But school officials, including the superintendent Guy Sayer, have always maintained they were not to blame and did nothing wrong in the run-up to Phoebe’s death.

The complaint by Phoebe’s parents, filed during the summer with a state agency Massachusetts Commission against Discrimination but not previously disclosed, named the school board, Mr Sayer, principal Dan Smith and vice principal William Evans.

Filed on behalf of Phoebe’s estate, it claims the teenager was discriminated against by the school and the officials, claiming they knew of the verbal abuse and physical threats but failed to “adequately address or remedy the harassing conduct”.

The complaint zeroes in on the sexual nature of the abuse Phoebe allegedly suffered.

“The repeated, sexually degrading, gender specific epithets such as ‘slut’, ‘c**t’, ‘whore’ and ‘bitch’ with which Phoebe was barraged at school constitute harassment based on sex,” the complaint reads.

The failure of the school to respond adequately, it was claimed, “had the purpose and effect of unreasonably interfering with Phoebe’s education by creating an intimidating, hostile, humiliating and sexually offensive educational environment”.

An investigator was appointed by the commission to probe the complaint but it was settled last month.

Insiders told the Boston Globe newspaper that there was a financial element to the settlement but that the family was more interested in the school and officials taking some responsibility.

Papers filed with the commission show that the two sides came to a “predetermination settlement” last month after which the complaint was dismissed.

In an interview broadcast last month, Mr Prince apportioned much of the blame on the school, claiming the culture was wrong and that it turned a blind eye for administrative reasons.

“The adults at the high school responded to this like administrators, not educators. Administrators minimise everything, they want as little hassle as possible.

“As a person she wasn’t that vulnerable. It was the environment of the school and the threats of physical violence. She was susceptible to that.”

The Boston Globe also revealed that federal prosecutors are investigating the handling of the bullying and the actions of the school after her death.