Cyberbullying In Public Schools

Through these cases, the federal government has somewhat defined the requirements of off-campus behavior to be regulated by the school. The idea of public schools limiting student speech off campus as highly relevant as cyberbullying, becomes a more recognized problem nationally. As schools regulate students’ off campus speech, they are undermining the Supreme Court’s ruling. By definition, if the speech in question is not taking place inside a classroom or on school grounds then it is not directly affecting the educational setting. It is not directly distracting the students or rendering the teacher unable to teach and therefore protected under the First Amendment and Supreme Court rulings. School administrations and communities must take …show more content…
Unfortunately it took a number of high-profile cases, and even some suicides, to bring the issue to the attention of many states’ courts and legislatures. “As of 2014, 49 out of 50 states had laws in place centered around bullying, and 20 of those states specifically stated “cyberbullying” in the legislation” (Warren, 2014). In most states, it is up to the school’s administration to create and enforce policy regarding bullying and cyberbullying. Few policies address cyberbullying that occurs off campus although federal policies exist for interventions in case of disruption of the educational environment. As of right now, most states require the department of education to set up their own anti-bullying programs and discipline guidelines as well as intimidation and harassment laws that include “electronic methods of bullying” (Warren, 2014). Schools are being more proactive, 45 states have some form of school sanction for cyberbullying that takes place on campus. Only 14 of the states include off-campus incidents. The only state that doesn’t have any kind of school policy is Montana. (Warren,