SOUTH HADLEY - School officials are taking additional disciplinary actions against a "small group" of students accused of bullying 15-year-old Phoebe Prince in the weeks that preceded the high school freshman's Jan. 14 suicide.

The action follows a three-week bullying probe by South Hadley High School Principal Daniel T. Smith, who is setting up disciplinary hearings with those students.

"Most of the incidents we identified occurred in that last week," Superintendent of Schools Gus A. Sayer said Friday. "They are very serious infractions."

The students accused of bullying will be summoned to hearings and held accountable, he said.

--Read the statement issued Thursday by South Hadley Schools Superintendent Gus Sayer

The bullying identified in connection with Prince at the high school occurred in places and at times when school staff were not present, according to Smith's findings. Prince enrolled in the high school after moving here from Ireland with her family last year.

"Regrettably, prior to her death, neither Phoebe, nor her family, nor any other students reported these incidents to school staff," Sayer said in a statement delivered to the School Committee Thursday.

School officials earlier had taken disciplinary actions against two female students who bullied Prince in public incidents at the high school one week before her death. Those incidents had been brought to the attention of school staff, according to Smith, who described the discipline in those cases as "swift, strong and immediate."

Since Prince's death, Smith has interviewed more than two dozen students. A few students have not cooperated because lawyers and family members advised them not to talk, according to Sayer. Some students sought for questioning also have been absent for several days.

Smith has reviewed staff reports about students who are the target of his investigation and information posted on several social networking sites. He also met earlier this week with Prince's parents, who he said have made themselves available while his probe continues.

"We're still in the middle of it," Smith said.

In addition to bullying, Smith noted he's identified other violations of the school's code of conduct, including what he considers more serious forms of harassment and a threat or threats of physical harm. It's possible other disciplinary actions could be forthcoming whether related to Prince or not, he said.

"It's a much bigger picture at this point than this horrific tragedy," Smith said. "Action that we take will be determined by the factual evidence we acquire."

Bullying identified

Smith's ongoing investigation has found that Prince was bullied by a "small number of students, in two unrelated groups." The bullying involved a classroom incident a week before Prince's death and defamatory comments and slurs made against her on the social networking site Facebook, according to Sayer's report before the School Committee.

A second group of students bullied Prince by approaching her and repeating those slurs in the high school library, its corridors, on her way home from school, and on Facebook in the final week of Prince's life, the school investigation found.

"This second group of students conspired to repeatedly harass and humiliate Phoebe, in violation of the school's code of conduct, and in possible violation of the law," Sayer's statement said.

A criminal probe by the South Hadley Police and Northwestern District Attorney's Office continues.

On Thursday, South Hadley Police Chief David J. LaBrie said his department is seeking a criminal complaint against one female student involved in a physical assault at the high school a week after Prince took her own life. School officials say that incident was "indirectly related" to the bullying incidents under investigation. LaBrie is also seeking a subpoena for Facebook records after receiving complaints from area residents who say they are being identified and harassed online in connection with the Prince investigation.

On the advice of legal counsel, Sayer said the School Department will not release the names, number or specific punishment doled out to any South Hadley High School students who are disciplined.

But he and Smith said some students will face the most serious consequences, which could include long-term suspensions, expulsion from school, or referral to police for further investigation.

"It's a small group, and I'm not sure the number is important," Sayer said. "I have a responsibility to follow the laws, and these laws include rights to privacy that students have."

Smith said he announced the findings of his investigation to students early Friday, but he cautioned that his work continues.

He said the school must soon begin what he described as a healing process as the events of the past three weeks have caused divisions in both the school and wider community.

"We've been through a trauma, and that's a significant thing," Smith said.

Dan Crowley can be reached at dcrowley@gazettenet.com.