Cyberbulllying

1. Cyberbulllying Dr. John Lowdermilk Mrs. Julie Pecina University of Texas Pan American

2. The Definition: Three Components • Conduct • Motivation • Effect

3. What Type of Conduct • Physical conduct that occurs at school, a school function, or at a school vehicle • Physical conduct that does not occur at school, school functions or school vehicle is not covered by the statute. NOT BULLYING • Written, verbal or electronic expression

4. The Definition: Motivation • Bullying involves exploiting an imbalance of power • Ask yourself: how do kids do this on your campus? • Exploit: “to use selfishly for one’s own ends.” • Exploitation involves intentional conduct.

5. The Definition: The Effect • The conduct must either • Interfere with the student’s education; or • Substantially disrupt the operation of the school. • The first effect is more common than the second • How might the conduct interfere with a student’s education?

6. Interfering with Student’s Education • Physical harm to the student; or • Damage to the student’s property; or • The bully has created an intimidating, threatening or abusive educational environment for the target student due to behavior that is severe, persistent and pervasive

7. What does that Mean? • When a student voluntarily forgoes a school activity for fear of, or in response to, perceived bullying, you have some evidence of an “intimidating, threatening, or abusive educational environment.” • For example, student quits band because of bullying

8. Cyberbullying • Willful and repeated harm inflicted through the use of computers, cell phones, and other electric devices • Incidents where adolescents use technology to harass, threaten, humiliate, or otherwise hassle their peers

9. Law and cyberbullying • Currently there does not exist any clear legal consensus about how to deal with may types of cyberbullying incidents • However, Texas has defined cyberbullying in House Bill 1942 as stated in Chapter 37 of the Texas Education Code

10. Penalties for Cyberbullying in Texas • Penalties resulting from conviction of cyber bullying can range from a Class A Misdemeanor up to a 3rd degree felony. There are many factors involved in proving this conviction. The criminal history of the offender is considered in determining the severity of sentencing. Misdemeanor violations will most likely include fines and community service but a felony charge can mean 2 to 10 years in prison.

11. Courts and Schools • For a school to not be allowed to become involved in student free speech, U.S. Supreme Court wrote in the 1969 Tinker v. Des Moines ISD case (that) 2 key features must be present • The behavior occurred on campus • The behavior was passive and non-threatening A prohibition against expression of opinion, without any evidence that the rule is necessary to avoid substantial interference with school disciple or the rights of other is not permissible under the First and Fourteenth Amendments. Thus, the Court clarified that school personnel have the burden of demonstrating that the speech or behavior resulted in a substantial interference.

12. Courts and Schools • EMMETT V. KENT SCHOOL DSTRICT NO. 415 (2000) • A student was expelled for creating a website with fake obituaries of students and created a page that allowed visitors to vote on which student died next • The major issue in this case was that the school district failed to demonstrate that the website was “intended to threaten anyone, did actually threaten anyone, or manifested any violent tendencies whatsoever.”

13. Courts and Schools • Layshock v. Hermitage School District (2006) • U. S. District Court denied the defendant’s motion for a preliminary injunction after examining “whether a school district can punish a student for posting on the Internet, from his grandmother’s home computer, a non-threatening, non-obscene parody profile making fun of the school principal.” • The Court noted that the act of creating a mock MySpace account was in fact protected by the First Amendment, when the act resulted in an “actual disruption of the day-to-day operation of the school, it became punishable by the school district • However, once the case had been heard, the Court found that the school could not determine which profile had caused a disruption and the Court concluded that it was the investigation by school personnel that led to a disruption

14. Six Primary Elements of an effective School Policy • Specific definitions for harassment, intimidation, and bullying (including the digital variants) • Graduated consequences and remedial actions • Procedures for reporting • Procedures for investigating • Specific language that if a student’s off-school speech or behavior results in “substantial disruption of the learning environment,” the student can be disciplined • Procedures for preventing cyberbullying

15. Negative effects • Depressed, sad, angry, and frustrated • One teenager stated: “It makes me hurt both physically and mentally. It scares me and takes away all my confidence. It makes me feel sick and worthless.” • Many students are afraid to go to school • Studies show links between cyberbullying and: • Low self-esteem • Family problems • Academic problems • School violence • Delinquent behavior • Suicide thoughts & suicides

16. Where does it occur • Cyberbullying started in chat rooms, however it has moved to • Social networking sites such as Facebook • Video sharing sites such as YouTube • Text messaging • Portable gaming devices • 3-D virtual worlds • Interactive sites such as Formspring and ChatRoulette

17. How often does it occur • Estimates range from 10 – 40% • One study using the definition of cyberbullying as “when someone repeatedly makes fun or another person online or repeatedly picks on another person through email or text message or when someone posts something online about another person that they don’t like…” This study from 2010 with a random selection of 4,400 students age 11 – 18 years old found 20%. • 20% admitted to cyberbullying and • 10% admitted to both being a cyberbully and a victim

18. What is different between cyberbullying & traditional bullying • Victims do not always know the identity of the cyberbully • The actions of the cyberbully are viral • The cyberbully will, many times, be more hurtful because of the innate structures of technology • Many adults to not have the know-how to protect and check up on their children when they are in cyber space

19. Why is it becoming a major issue • 75% of youth go online every day for school work, to keep in touch with their friends, to play games, to learn about celebrities, to share their digital creations, etc..

20. Challenges of preventing it • Many people do not see cyberbullying as a major problem. They see other types of aggression as more important to deal with • Most authorities are hesitant to get involved

21. Signs of Cyberbullying • Unexpectedly stops using their computer or cell • Appears nervous or jumpy when an instant message or email appears • Appears uneasy about going to school or outside in general • Appears to be angry, depressed, or frustrated after using tech • Avoids discussions about tech • Becomes abnormally withdrawn from usual friends and family members

22. Signs of a cyberbully • Quickly switches screens or closes programs when an adult walks by • Gets unusually upset if tech privileges are restricted • Avoids discussions about what they are doing on tech • Inconsistent behavior towards tech

23. Sexting Defined • The sending or receiving of sexually-explicit or sexually-suggestive images or video via a cell phone

24. Two high profile incidentsJesse Logan & Hope Witsell • Jesse Logan • 18 year old girl from Ohio whose ex-boyfriend circulated nude pictures of her to a large number of their high school peers • Two months later she committed suicide • Hope Witsell • 13 year old girl • Sent topless pictures of herself to a boy she liked • The image found it way onto the cells of other students • Resulted in name calling by other students (e.g., slut, whore) • Committed suicide two weeks into her 8th grade school year

25. Research • Four national students have been completed which collected data on the frequency of sexting among teens • National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy • Released data from late Sep and early Oct of 2008 which identified that 19% of teens had sent a sexually-suggestive picture or video of themselves to someone via email, cell, or another form of online interaction • 31% had received a nude or semi-nude picture from someone else

26. Research • Cox Communication study conducted in April of 2009 • 9% of teens between the ages of 13 – 19 had sent sexually-suggestive pictures via text or email • 3% had forwarded one • 17% had received one

27. Research • MTV & Associated Press explored the issue in Sept 2009 • 10% of youth between ages 14 and 24 had sent a naked picture of themselves to others • 15% had received naked pictures or video from someone directly

28. Research • Pew Internet & American Life Project based on data collected from June to Sept of 2009 found • 4% of youth ages 12 – 17 who owned cell phones had sent sexually-suggestive nude or nearly nude images of themselves to someone else • 15% had receive such images

29. Research • Much of the research shows that while boys and girls were equally likely to report sending photos, boys were significantly more likely to report receiving them

30. Responses • Criminal prosecution against teens who engage in sexting, have included the following charges: • Disorderly conduct • Illegal use of a minor in nudity-oriented material • Felony sexual assault of children • Criminal use of a communications facility • Open lewdness

31. Responses • While some people believe that the charges listed in the previous slide are appropriate defenses to stopping future suicides such as Jesse Logan and Hope Witsell; many people think that sexting is a part of adolescent “dating” during an era where digital technology are mainstays in our culture • As of Sept 2010, 21 states have either introduced or enacted legislation to address sexting with penalties ranging from educational programming for first-time offenders, to fines, felony charges, or short-term incarceration

32. What should schools do • Teachers should work with their school police officer to collect evidence and investigate the incident to determine its nature • ADMINISTRATORS AND TEACHERS SHOULD NEVER FORWARD, COPY, TRANSMIT, DOWNLOAD, OR PLACE ON A USB THUMB DRIVE, OR SHOW ANY NON-LAW ENFORCEMENT PERSONNEL ANY EVIDENCE COLLECTED FROM A PERSONAL DIGITAL DEVICE, CELL, AND/OR COMPUTER AFTER THE INITIAL DISCOVERY

33. What should schools do • School personnel should only confiscate the device and let law enforcement search its contents and call logs • Contact the primary students involved and their families • With regard to the child who is featured in the pictures, the situation must be addressed in a delicate manner • The student and parent(s) should be encouraged to meet with a counselor or another mental health professional to deal with trauma and stress of the incident • Some school districts mandate the contacting of the parents of the students that disseminated the images, before the investigation can begin

34. What should schools do • It is critical that officials identify the motivations behind the behavior (e.g., was it immaturity or intent to harm?) • School officials need to get “ahead” of the further distribution of the images

35. Preventative measures • Schools should develop a policy that clearly states that the MERE possession of sexually-explicit images of minors on any device is prohibited regardless of whether any state laws are violated • Policy should indicate that all involved in sexting, unless they immediately deleted the images, could be subject to discipline • Policy should inform student that their parents and the police may be contacted to investigate • Policy should put students on notice that cell phones will be searched if there is probably cause that a criminal violation has occurred, and may be searched if reasonable suspicion exists that the phone contains evidence of a violation of school policy • Consequences must be clearly stated but should include wording that allows admin to use their discretion • Policy should explicitly prohibit harassment and bullying related to sexting incidents, and include provisions for increased punishment where threats are made regarding the distribution

36. For a List of Helpful Websites, Please see the following • http://www.tea.state.tx.us/index2.aspx?id=2147488005