ALBANY – Legislation putting more responsibility on schools to monitor and report incidents of cyberbullying was signed into law Monday by Gov. Andrew Cuomo. But the new measure does not include a more sweeping component sought by some lawmakers and victims of bullying: stronger and clearer penalties for those who harass others via texts, email and social media.
The new law follows the suicide last September of Jamey Rodemeyer, a 14-year-old Williamsville North freshman who blogged often about the bullying he endured for being gay. Local police at the time said their hands were tied in pursuing a case because of the vagueness of state law pertaining to cyberbullying.
While schools already can have anti-bullying bullying policies in place in their required codes of conduct, the new law further defines cyberbullying as part of a 2010 law meant to crack down on incidents of bullying in schools.
The law specifically defines cyberbullying as harassment taking place through any electronic means and that “reasonably causes or would reasonably be expected to cause physical injury or emotional harm to a student.’’ For purposes of involvement by school districts, the incidents of cyberbullying of a student could occur on or off school grounds.
The law creates a system for reports of cyberbullying to reach school principals or superintendents – and requires schools to take “prompt action’’ to intervene to end the harassment of a student. It also requires schools to devise specific anti-cyberbullying policies. It requires schools to report to law enforcement incidents of cyberbullying if school officials believe the acts “constitute criminal conduct.’’
Cuomo’s office said more than seven million students in the United States between the ages of 12 and 18 were bullied at school in 2009, and that 1.5 million students were believed to be the victims of cyberbullying either on or off school property.
The new law will go into effect next year.
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