The 16-year-old girl accused of stabbing her friend last spring will be able to attend Scarborough High School without parental supervision, a judge ruled last week.

Judge Peter Goranites agreed to amend Lyndsey McLaughlin’s conditions of release, which required 24-hour parental supervision, to allow educational staff to supervise her at school. He said McLaughlin will eventually be unsupervised and now is an appropriate time to begin making that transition.

McLaughlin, is charged with attempted murder and elevated aggravated assault – both Class A felonies – after she allegedly stabbed then 20-year-old Barbara Kring in the neck and throat in the woods next to the Scarborough Public Library in early March.

Despite the severity of the changes, McLaughlin is being prosecuted as a juvenile because of her age and the fact that she has not been in any previous trouble.

Goranites asked McLaughlin’s probation officer Jay Pennell and high school Principal Andrew Dolloff to develop a plan where she would receive direct supervision from school staff during part of the day.

Pennell will review the plan after a few weeks to ensure it is working. If it is not the judge granted him the authority to again require a parent to attend school with McLaughlin.

“We’ll try this interim step and see how it goes,” Goranites said.

The judge’s decision is based in part on an August meeting with school staff and a case worker that found McLaughlin was not a threat to other students and did not require any additional supervision beyond that of a normal student.

“School officials have been responsible, I think, looking at this issue,” Goranites said.

During the hearing, Assistant District Attorney Michelle Baldwin said the state opposed changes in McLaughlin’s conditions of release because of the seriousness of the offense, mental health concerns, and the safety of the school community and Barbara Kring.

“Kids can be cruel,” Baldwin said, explaining that McLaughlin may face additional pressures at school. “We just don’t know what will happen.”

McLaughlin’s attorney Maura Keaveney countered that the issue has been discussed and plans have been instituted to help the teen cope with the possibility. She has the option of visiting the resource room, a self-contained unit or the guidance office to help her handle issues that may arise during the day.

Keaveney also said that McLaughlin has not violated any of her conditions of release, has regularly been receiving counseling, and has been meeting with Pennell.

Denise Kring, Barbara Kring’s mother, said she does not trust the school’s ability to keep her daughter safe and is concerned that McLaughlin could turn her anger towards another student or her daughter, who is no longer a student at the school but lives about a mile away.

“If there is not someone there to act as a buffer it could be very hard for her,” Denise Kring said.

When McLaughlin began attending school earlier this month she was accompanied by a parent because of the conditions of release. Dolloff said such an arrangement is unusual and, if not for a court order, would not be required by the school.

“Throughout this process there were not behavioral issues in the school setting that indicated a need for (one-on-one supervision),” Dolloff said during the hearing.

McLaughlin is expected to plead not criminally responsible by reason of insanity to the charges in December. State law does not require punishment for juveniles using this defense.