Beth+Allen

Laws/Regulations for cyberbullying:   1. ARKANSAS:  The state Senate passed a bill calling on school districts to set up policies to address cyber bullying.  2. IDAHO:  In 2006, Idaho expanded their anti-bullying legislation, requiring school districts to address cyber bullying in their anti-bullying policy. Idaho's redrafted legislation declared that acts of harassment, intimidation or bullying could be committed through "the use of a land line, car phone or wireless telephone or through the use of data or computer software that is accessed through a computer, computer system, or computer network."  3. IOWA:  The state Senate passed an anti-bullying legislation that requires schools to formalize an anti-bullying policy. In 2007 this state expanded the legislation to include electronic communication, which they define as "any communication involving the transmission of information by wire, radio, optical cable, electromagnetic, or other similar means." "Electronic" includes but is not limited to communication via e- mail, internet-based communications, pagers, cell phones, and text messaging.  4. MINNESOTA:  Introduced new legislation into the State Senate that would require that all school districts in Minnesota expand their anti-bullying policies to address and respond to cyber bullying at the local level.  5. NEW JERSEY: <span style="font-size: 8pt; color: #333333; font-family: 'Arial Black','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;"> New Jersey enacted an anti-bullying law that went into effect this past fall. The law requires school districts to implement anti-bullying policies and methods for responding to bullying and other forms of harassment. <span style="font-size: 8pt; color: #333333; font-family: 'Arial Black','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Arial Black'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Arial Black';"> 6. <span style="font-size: 8pt; font-family: 'Arial Black','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;">OREGON: <span style="font-size: 8pt; color: #333333; font-family: 'Arial Black','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;">Has proposed a bill that would require all of the state's 198 school districts to adopt policies that prohibit cyber bullying. <span style="font-size: 8pt; color: #333333; font-family: 'Arial Black','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Arial Black'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Arial Black';"> 7. <span style="font-size: 8pt; font-family: 'Arial Black','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;">PENNSYLVANIA: <span style="font-size: 8pt; color: #333333; font-family: 'Arial Black','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;"> State Sen. Jane Orie, R-Bradford Woods has proposed a bill that would amend Title 18, the Crimes Code, to make that type of theft, re-publication, and cyber bullying a criminal offense. The other piece would amend the Public School Code to require school districts to adopt policies prohibiting the conduct. <span style="font-size: 8pt; color: #333333; font-family: 'Arial Black','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Arial Black'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Arial Black';"> 8. <span style="font-size: 8pt; font-family: 'Arial Black','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;">SOUTH CAROLINA: <span style="font-size: 8pt; color: #333333; font-family: 'Arial Black','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;"> Requires school districts to define bullying and outline policies and repercussions for the behavior, including cyber bullying. One school district there has proposed punishments from warnings up to expulsion for both traditional bullying and cyber bullying. <span style="font-size: 8pt; color: #333333; font-family: 'Arial Black','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Arial Black'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Arial Black';"> 9. <span style="font-size: 8pt; font-family: 'Arial Black','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;">WASHINGTON: <span style="font-size: 8pt; color: #333333; font-family: 'Arial Black','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;"> Requires each school district to adopt or amend if necessary a policy, that prohibits the harassment, intimidation, or bullying of any student, either verbally or electronically. <span style="font-size: 8pt; color: #333333; font-family: 'Arial Black','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Arial Black'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Arial Black';"> 10. <span style="font-size: 8pt; color: #333333; font-family: 'Arial Black','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;">Twenty other states have began to investigate and construct proposals that address bullying and cyber bullying, but do not have official legislation drafted or pending. <span style="font-size: 8pt; color: #333333; font-family: 'Arial Black','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Arial Black'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Arial Black';"> 11. <span style="font-size: 8pt; color: #333333; font-family: 'Arial Black','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;">It should be recognized that all the standards in the above legislation, except Washington State, fall under abuse on school property only. The question of what standards should be applied to off-campus speech is an issue that is currently under consideration by the Supreme Court in the case of Morse v. Fredrick’s. As of the writing of this document, this case has not yet been decided. <span style="font-size: 8pt; color: #333333; font-family: 'Arial Black','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Arial Black'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Arial Black';"> 12. <span style="font-size: 8pt; color: #333333; font-family: 'Arial Black','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;">Washington State is the only legislation that proposes to extend punishment for cyber bullying that occurs off-campus, yet threatens a student and impairs his or her capacity to learn in school. <span style="font-size: 8pt; color: black; font-family: 'Arial Black','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Arial Black'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Arial Black';"> 13. <span style="font-size: 8pt; color: black; font-family: 'Arial Black','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"> <span style="font-size: 8pt; font-family: 'Arial Black','sans-serif';"> [|Click here for more information] <span style="font-size: 8pt; color: black; font-family: 'Arial Black','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"> <span style="font-family: 'Arial Black', Gadget, sans-serif;">Arkansas: A 2007 law added cyber bullying to school anti-bullying policies and included provisions for school officials to take action against some off-campus activities. The law applies to electronic acts whether or not they originate on school property "if the electronic act is directed specifically at students or school personnel and is maliciously intended for the purpose of disrupting school, and has a high likelihood of succeeding in that purpose." <span style="font-family: 'Arial Black', Gadget, sans-serif;">Delaware: The School Bullying Prevention Act passed in 2007 allows school administrators to take action against "technology-related" bullying that takes place off school grounds "provided there is a sufficient school nexus." <span style="font-family: 'Arial Black', Gadget, sans-serif;">Idaho: A law passed in 2006 allows school officials to temporarily suspend students for disrupting school by bullying or harassing other students, including by using telephones or computers. <span style="font-family: 'Arial Black', Gadget, sans-serif;">Iowa: 2007 law includes references to electronic communication and requires schools to create policies prohibiting harassment and bullying "in schools, on school property or at any school function or school-sponsored activity." <span style="font-family: 'Arial Black', Gadget, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 8pt; font-family: 'Arial Black','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"> <span style="font-family: 'Arial Black', Gadget, sans-serif;">Minnesota: A 2007 bill requires schools to create written policies "prohibiting intimidation and bullying of any student," including the use of the Internet. <span style="font-family: 'Arial Black', Gadget, sans-serif;">New Jersey: A 2007 bill added electronic communication to the definition of bullying in school policies. While the law refers to bullying in schools, new state guidelines say school administrators "may impose consequences for acts of harassment, intimidation or bullying that occur off school grounds, such as cyber bullying," but only when those acts substantially disrupt school. <span style="font-family: 'Arial Black', Gadget, sans-serif;">Oregon: State officials added cyber bullying in 2007 to a law that called for school districts to develop anti-bullying policies, establish procedures to report such behavior, and provide an outline of consequences. The law defines bullying as any act that "substantially interferes" with a student's education and takes place "on or immediately adjacent to school grounds" or at school-sponsored activities. <span style="font-family: 'Arial Black', Gadget, sans-serif;">South Carolina: The Safe School Climate Act passed in 2006, required school districts to adopt policies to "prohibit harassment, intimidation or bullying at school." Electronic communication was included in the definition of bullying. <span style="font-family: 'Arial Black', Gadget, sans-serif;">Washington: A 2007 bill added electronic harassment to school district harassment prevention policies. It calls on school administrators to develop policies prohibiting bulling "via electronic means" but restricts the scope of the policy to actions that take place "while on school grounds and during the school day." <span style="font-size: 8pt; color: black; font-family: 'Arial Black','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: 'Arial Black', Gadget, sans-serif;">States considering cyber bullying bills: <span style="font-family: 'Arial Black', Gadget, sans-serif;">Maryland: State Del. Craig Rice proposed a bill to require schools to develop policies prohibiting bullying and cyber bullying after hearing from a high school student who said classmates harassed her after she came out as gay. The bill has a treatment component. <span style="font-family: 'Arial Black', Gadget, sans-serif;">Missouri: Following the suicide of a 13-year-old-girl allegedly the victim of an Internet hoax, Gov. Matt Blunt created an Internet Harassment Task Force. In January, it proposed a law that would make it a crime to harass someone using an electronic device— from a class a misdemeanor to a class D felony. The task force also called for state education officials to consider computer ethics and etiquette classes and suggested legislation adding harassment as a mandatory reportable offense under current education statutes. <span style="font-family: 'Arial Black', Gadget, sans-serif;">New York: At least two proposed laws deal with cyber bullying in the schools. They would amend education law by including electronic communication in the definition of harassment, creating procedures to investigate harassment, and establishing a statewide registry for bullying, cyber bullying and hazing complaints. <span style="font-family: 'Arial Black', Gadget, sans-serif;">Rhode Island: State Sen. John Tassoni Jr. is sponsoring a bill that would add cyber bullying to school anti-harassment policies. It calls for repeat violators to be sent to family court, which would determine whether the offending student is to be considered delinquent. The bill does not include off-campus bullying. <span style="font-family: 'Arial Black', Gadget, sans-serif;">Vermont: A bill has been proposed that would expand an existing anti-bullying law by allowing school officials to punish some off-campus bullying, including cyber bullying. School officials would be allowed to take action "if the acts have a direct or negative impact on a student's academic performance or access to school services." The bill also would make bullying and cyber bullying a crime punishable by a fine of up to $500. <span style="font-size: 9pt; color: black; font-family: Broadway; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"> <span style="font-size: 8pt; font-family: 'Arial Black','sans-serif';"> [|Click here for more information]

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