Missouri school districts prepare policies to address cyberbullying

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- A new cyberbullying law takes effect Friday in school districts statewide.

The law, passed last spring, added the words "cyberbullying" and "bullying by electronic communications" to anti-bullying statutes enacted in 2006.

The law aims to address the myriad new avenues of torment paved by the digital age, as highlighted by the suicide of Megan Meier, a suburban St. Louis teenager allegedly harassed over MySpace by another girl's mother.

The mother was later acquitted, but the case served as an inspiration to the Missouri School Boards' Association, which included cyberbullying in the model anti-bullying policy it released in 2006.

"As the largest provider of model [school] board policy in the state of Missouri, we have actually done nothing to our bullying policy because of this new law," said Kelli Hopkins, MSBA assistant executive director.

State Rep. Joe Aull, D-Marshall, a retired school administrator, sat on the House committee that worked on the cyberbullying legislation. He said he believes the explosion of electronic communication and communication devices has lead to more bullying than ever before.

"It's very important that every student can come to school every day ... and feel that school is a safe place," Aull said. The members of the committee "felt like we needed to put a little more emphasis on it, and say this is a real problem that needs to be addressed."

The Jefferson City School District was among those that reacted quickly to the school board association's policies and instituted programs for teachers, parents and students aimed at all forms of bullying.

Most forms of social electronic media are blocked in school buildings. Students also sign an anti-bullying pledge and meet in small and large groups to talk about the issue.

"We try to get out in front of it," said David Luther, spokesman for the Jefferson City School District. "We get the students talking about [bullying], and that tends to help a lot."

Both Luther and Hopkins agree that most electronic harassment occurs outside of the school campus and at times school officials must proceed cautiously.

"Most educators will tell you, the Internet is a wonderful thing, but in the world of the social media, which can be wonderful too, it can very easily be abused and we have to be sensitive to that," Luther said.

"What the courts have told us, is that to the extent there is a connection between the off-campus activity and our schools, and the function of our schools, then we can discipline the students," said Hopkins. "If there is no connection between the off-campus behavior and disruptions in our schools, then our ability to discipline the student is limited."

Hopkins said even if incidents happen between students off campus, instead of meting out discipline, schools will generally use the incidents as teaching points or discussion topics.

Some question whether Missouri's anti-bullying policy goes far enough.

State Rep. Sara Lampe, D-Springfield, has long maintained that the statutes do not do enough to protect certain groups of students.

This past session, as in other legislative sessions, Lampe tried to revise the definition of bullying to include discrimination. She wanted to prohibit bullying when one reasonably perceived it to be based upon a student's real or perceived affiliation with any particular group.

Her bill, which did not receive a hearing, also included stricter reporting requirements and mandatory training and review of school district personnel.

"We have added cyberbullying language, but it is not nearly enough," Lampe told colleagues on the last day of the legislative session. "And I think we must act before more lives are lost of our innocent children."