Wednesday, June 2, 2010

Cyberbullying continues after bell rings

A letter from State Senator Teresa Fedor
(Columbus Dispatch link, click here)

School districts must have a path and victims must have recourse to address harassment by electronic devices when it affects the educational environment. To claim that anti-cyber bullying legislation is an overreach, as in the Dispatch’s May 28 editorial, is to overlook the reality of both today’s school environment and legal precedence.

Cyber bullying has a more far-reaching impact than traditional bullying, because it doesn’t end when the school bell rings. Students can (and do) cyber bully their classmates from their computers, BlackBerrys, iPads, and cell phones well beyond the school day.

There is Supreme Court precedent holding that schools may intervene in off-campus expression when it materially or substantively disrupts learning in the physical school setting. Senate Bill 126 and House Bill 520 do not, in any way, “order schools to police interactions” between students. It is the responsibility of the student victim, parent, or other witness to bring forth the evidence of cyber bullying to the administrator. When such information is brought to their attention, it is up to the administrators to proceed with the information as they would with other bullying cases. In fact, the Buckeye Association of School Administrators is in favor of this legislation and testified in support of Senate Bill 126.

To ignore such bullying, simply because it doesn’t happen between the walls of a school, would be unconscionable.

Teresa Fedor
State Senator, 11th District
Sponsor of Senate Bill 126

The Caucus


Minority Leader Eric H. Kearney - Cincinnati - 9th District
Assistant Minority Leader Joe Schiavoni - Canfield - 33rd District
Minority Whip Nina Turner - Cleveland - 25th District
Assistant Minority Whip Edna Brown - Toledo - 11th District
Senator Tom Sawyer - Akron - 28th District
Senator Charleta B. Tavares - Columbus - 15th District
Senator Shirley Smith - Cleveland - 21st District
Senator Michael J. Skindell - Cleveland - 23rd District
Senator Lou Gentile - Steubenville - 30th District
Senator Capri S. Cafaro - Hubbard - 32nd District

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