States consider crackdowns on cyberbullying
States from Oregon to Rhode Island are considering crackdowns to curb or outlaw cyberbullying, the behavior that involves students who taunt or insult peers on social Web sites like MySpace.com or via instant messages. Still, there is some disagreement over how effective crackdowns will be and how to do it. "The kids are forcing our hands to do something legislatively," says Rhode Island state senator John Tassoni, who introduced a bill to study cyberbullying and hopes to pass a law by late 2007. Others argue legislation would be ineffective. While George McDonough, an education coordinator with Rhode Island's Department of Education, concedes that the Internet has become an "instant slam book," he doubts whether laws can stem bad behavior. "You can't legislate norms, you can only teach norms," he says. "Just because it's a law they don't necessarily follow it. I mean, look at the speed limit." Experts on cyberbullying argue that it can be more damaging to victims than traditional bullying like fist fights and classroom taunts because the Internet allows students to insult others in relative anonymity. Legislators and educators agree that there is a need for guidelines outlining how to punish cyberbullying. They point out the behavior has gone unchecked for years, with few laws or policies on the books explaining how to treat it.
But Steven Brown, executive director of the Rhode Island branch of the American Civil Liberties Union, believes it will be difficult to draft a cyber bullying law that doesn't infringe on free-speech rights. "The fact that two teenagers say nasty things about each other is a part of growing up," he says. "How much authority does a school have to monitor, regulate and punish activities occurring inside a student's home?" In Arkansas, the state senate passed a bill calling on school districts to set up policies to address cyberbullying only after it was amended to settle concerns about students' free-speech rights. In South Carolina, a new law requires school districts to define bullying and outline policies and repercussions for the behavior, including cyberbullying. According to Hemanshu Nigam, MySpace.com’s chief security officer, the social-networking site prohibits cyber bullying and tells users to report abuse to the company as well as parents and law enforcement.
San Diego Union-Tribune
By Justin M. Norton (Associated Press)
[Full story]
[Editor’s Note: According to a national poll released just before the start of the school year, cyberbullying affects more 13 million students. See the first link below. Information on other social networking issues can be found at the second link. The third link is to an NSBA resource that includes an article by COSA member Lisa Swem of the Thrun law firm in Lansing, Michigan, discussing some of the legal impediments to school district action against off-campus student expression.]
[NSBA School Law pages on cyberbullying poll]
[NSBA School Law pages on social networking issues]
[Leadership Insider on harassment and bullying]