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Because cyberbullying is such a new phenomenon, school and law enforcement officials in the United States and other countries are still sorting out the legal technicalities. "Most of what is done online is protected as free speech," says Frannie Wellings, policy fellow at the Electronic Privacy Information Center in Washington, DC.

Megan Meier Cyberbullying Prevention Act - A federal law has been proposed that defines cyberbullying and specifies penalties (in the form of fines and up to two years imprisonment) for violators. The bill is formally called the Megan Meier Cyberbullying Prevention Act (HR 6123), and was introduced jointly by Representatives from Missouri and California. It anmends the federal criminal code to impose criminal penalties on anyone who transmits in interstate or foreign commerce a communication intended to coerce, intimidate, harass, or cause substantial emotional distress to another person, using electronic means to support severe, repeated, and hostile behavior.

The California Department of Education (CDE) and the Office of the Attorney General (AG) co-administer the School/Law Enforcement Partnership program. The Partnership has funded the Kern County Office of Education for a five-year period to administer the statewide School Safety and Violence Prevention Training Grant. The grant provides for safe schools planning, bullying prevention, and crisis response training. This training program does not currently include prevention of bullying that occurs via electronic communication devices. Need for the bill : A poll commissioned in 2006 by Fight Crime: Invest in Kids, showed that one in three teens and one in six preteens have been victims of cyber bullying and that more than 2 million of those victims told no one about the attacks.

As more and more people have access to computers and mobile phones, a new risk to youngsters has begun to emerge. Electronic aggression, in the form of threatening text messages and the spread of online rumours on social networking sites, is a growing concern.

Social networking Web sites and other technologies enable schoolyard bullies to pack a bigger punch. Advice and concerns from Nancy Willard and other experts in the field.

Missouri Gov. Matt Blunt signed a bill Monday outlawing cyberbullying, just miles from where a 13-year-old girl committed suicide nearly two years ago after being harassed on the Internet.\n\nThe bill updates state laws against harassment by removing the requirement that the communication be written or over the telephone. Supporters say the bill now covers harassment from computers, text messages and other electronic devices.

With the proliferation of Web 2.0 tools, rapidly emerging technologies and portable electronic devices, your AUP may need frequent updating. In this section of the CTAP CyberSafety Project web site, you'll find helpful resources for all areas of consideration, including cell phone policies.

Discussing proper interaction and safety with digital devices is important.

Responsible use of electronic devices is going to become increasingly important because today cell phone is a distraction --- tomorrow it will be in car movies or gps devices. It is the behavior that is the problem and proper focus on real life has to be something we emphasize as we discuss the proper relationship of humans with "gadgets."

April 2008 : THE Journal. Students see a distinction between the writing they do for school and the writing they do in their personal lives. While the vast majority of 12- to 17-year-olds (85 percent) engage in some form of electronic writing--IM, e-mail, blog posts, text messages, etc.--most (60 percent) don't consider this actual writing.

From the Center for Intellectual Property, University of Maryland. The Center for Intellectual Property provides education, research, and resources for the higher education community on copyright, academic integrity, and the emerging digital environment. The Center accomplishes its mission through the delivery of workshops and conferences, online training, consultations on campus, and electronic and print publications, and it provides continuous updates on legislative developments at the local, state, national, and international level.

The 2006 amendment to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure requires that public entities, including school districts, be able to produce electronically stored information from staff members, such as e-mail and other digital communications, during the " discovery process" in lawsuits.

Public schools and local governments may have more stringent requirements than most businesses for email archiving and electronic discovery. Yet, with their limited budgets, schools and local governments are often the least equipped to respond.The newly revised Federal Rules of Civil Procedure define how email must be handled in federal court cases. Businesses tend to think that the FRCP focus is on interstate lawsuits. Schools and governments, however, also need to be concerned with emails relating to federally funded activities or any activity governed by federal legislation.In addition, schools and local governments have the burden of responding to (1) requests under open meeting and Freedom of Information Act laws, (2) offensive emails or those with sexual content involving students, and (3) emailed threats.

People used to say a child's suicide ripples through a community. These days, it rides an electronic wave. Teenagers relay the news with cell phone calls, text messaging and Internet social networks, complicating the efforts of teachers, counselors and parents trying to manage grief after a young person's death. To our readers This series stems from our continuing examination of what led 19-year-old Robert Hawkins to become a mass killer last December at Omaha's Von Maur store. Today's stories describe how Internet postings, cell phones and text messages allow teens to spread their angst rapidly under the radar of adult oversight. Three-part series The World-Herald investigation into Robert Hawkins' murder spree and suicide last December leads to the discovery of a teen suicide cluster in Sarpy County. Sunday: Connections between suicidal teens cross community and school district lines. Today: Technology spreads teenage grief and angst quickly, with no parental oversight. Tuesday: A widely used but controversial suicide screening program is urged for use in Nebraska schools. Cyberspace is fertile ground for suicide contagion. It provides a forum for prolonged and excessive grieving in a highly charged, emotional atmosphere - precisely the kind of atmosphere psychologists warn to avoid after a death. It is also unmonitored by all but the most vigilant parents.

Texting is a form of wireless communication where users send or receive short, digital messages electronically. Texting is also known as SMS (Short Message Service). Although the bulk of texting is done via mobile-to-mobile devices, websites and companies are also jumping on the bandwagon. Some companies allow users to "web text" by sending and receiving text messages to mobile devices from their computers. Many provide the service for free. Text messaging is an extremely popular method of communication. CTIA-The Wireless Association®, the international association for the wireless telecommunications industry, reported that over 48 billion text messages were sent in a one-month period in 2007, which averages 1.6 billion messages per day.

A new law aimed at deterring the proliferation of cyberbullying at public schools goes into effect Jan. 1, bolstering educators' ability to tackle the problem head-on.The law gives school administrators the leverage to suspend or expel students for bullying other students by means of an electronic device such as a mobile phone or on an Internet social networking site like MySpace or Facebook; the law, however, only applies to bullying that occurs during school hours or during a school-related activity.

The crackdown on schoolyard bullying in recent years has increased awareness of problems at our public schools involving degrading comments, intimidation and violence. But the problem is still out there and, thanks to the Internet and cell phones, has taken on a whole new dimension. Some of our children are now taunted and harassed not just at school, but electronically with inappropriate text messages, e-mails and Web site postings.

Videos From the National Teenage Dating Abuse Helpline targeting teens and covering topics such as electronic harrassment through excessive text messaging, badgering to send nude pictures and hacking the private spaces of others. Can be used as a springboard for discussion among kids.

With the increasing popularity of e-mail and online instant messaging among today�s teens, a recognizable change has occurred in the language that students use in their writing. This lesson explores the language of electronic messages and how it affects other writing. Furthermore, it explores the freedom and creativity for using Internet abbreviations for specific purposes and examines the importance of a more formal style of writing based on audience.

The increasing trend of cyber-bullying has transcended the playground, according to a study cited by the Christian Science Monitor, as over a quarter of teachers and principals are the subject of mocking blog posts or doctored images. This new brand of bullying tends to be more malicious than normal schoolhouse pranks, and can undercut a teacher's ability to perform in the classroom. Opinions differ, however, on what solutions to pursue. Some school districts have come down hard, using provisions like North Carolina's cyberstalking law to charge students criminally for electronically communicated threats, racial slurs, and, in one case, spurious accusations of pedophilia.

The Acceptable Use Policy should state that written parental consent is required before any student is given access to the Internet or to electronic mail. There needs to be a signature form for parents and students to sign indicating that they have read, understand and intend to abide by the school's Acceptable Use Policy. Sample permission forms are included for elementary, middle and high school.