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Cyberbullying
The Internet is a wonderful resource for children. It entertains and educates them, often at the same time. It’s a valuable tool for study and a handy way to keep in touch with their friends and family.
Unfortunately, it comes with risks. All kinds, like predators, hackers, thieves…and bullies. Cyberbullying has emerged as the most prevalent and persistent online threat to our kids: their own associates and peers using electronic means to bully and harass.
Cyberbullying: |
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Bullying is defined as the systematic infliction of physical hurt or psychological distress. Cyberbullying is simply the use of information technology—computers and cell phones—to do the same. |
There are a number of websites that provide excellent information for dealing with and preventing bullying:
Comprehensive cyberbullying fact sheet.
Eye-opening cyberbullying statistics.
ebrary’s Searchable Information Center on Cyber Bullying
How to handle the different types of cyber bullies.
Within Florida, school districts have comprehensive policies that allow the schools to take action in bullying cases even if the bullying occurred off school grounds. The polices define bullying as prohibited behavior that “interferes with educational opportunities or education programs of such students” (may be somewhat different depending on the school district.)
This means that, in Florida schools, it doesn’t matter where the bullying occurs; if it negatively affects a student’s education process, the school can take action.
This is a powerful resource for children and parents. To find out the policy in your district, type “county anti-bullying policy” followed by your county name in a search engine like Google or Bing.
