Aug 1, 2008 6:26 am US/Eastern
N.J. School District Set To Battle Cyber Bullies
Montclair Officials To Attack Offenders Off School Grounds
Reporting
Cindy Hsu
MONTCLAIR, N.J. (CBS) ―
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Cyber bullying has become a serious problem among young students. One New Jersey school has new plans to deal with it.
CBS
A local school district is trying to protect its students from cyber bullies, even when they attack from home. CBS 2 HD has learned how the school is cracking down and making the bullies the target.
When students head back to school in Montclair this fall, they'll get an extra page in their student handbook that addresses cyber-bullying, which is harassment through e-mails, text messages and social networking sites.
School officials will now have the authority to take action, even when the cyber attacks are off school grounds.
"When a kid is at home on his own home computer than he's not totally isolated from the school," Dr. James Patterson said. "It used to be, as you know, the Internet is an area of basically free speech, but free speech has some restrictions to it."
Experts argue that the free speech argument should take a back seat to threats of physical violence. The author of "Cyber-Safe Kids, Cyber-Savvy Teens" says about 1 in 4 students have experienced this hi-tech intimidation.
"Cyber-bullying is a big deal. It's leading to significant emotional distress of young people. Sometimes it's even leading to suicide and it's leading to violence among young people," said Nancy Willard of the Center for Safe and Responsible Internet Use.
Kristina Gagliardi is a teacher and says she's seen her students suffer countless times at the hands of cyber bullies.
"About a year ago, a student was e-mailing another student threatening to kill them," Gagliardi said.
With the new policy, teachers are now obligated to report cases of cyber-bullying to school officials. Students tell CBS 2 HD, they need all the help they can get.
"I think it's a good idea because if they don't take action, it's just going to keep happening and people are going to get hurt," Montclair High School student Carole Johnson said.
As far as the punishment for cyber-bullying, school officials say bullies could face suspension or law enforcement could be called in for extreme cases.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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