AUGUSTA, Maine (AP)   Officials with a pair of Maine state agencies say they will participate in a study to evaluate the effectiveness of anti-bullying laws.

The Maine Department of Education and the Maine Center for Disease Control are taking part in the study as part of a partnership with a group of universities. The education department says the study will review the efficacy and implementation of anti-bullying laws that have been in effect since 1999.

The department says researchers also will take a look at how anti-bullying laws are being implemented in Maine. Education Commissioner Robert Hasson Jr. says the work will help ensure the state’s anti-bullying law is making students safe.

The universities participating in the study are the University of Minnesota, Columbia University, the University of Iowa and Temple University.