Cyberbully tactics are focus of state law

CARSON CITY -- Most people remember the bully in the school yard who tried to steal their lunch money or baseball cards.

They might even have ended up in the principal's office when they got up the courage to fight back.

Bullies have always been around. But they've changed their scare tactics since the growth of electronic technology. Now they spread their hostility with computers and cell phones.

Public school officials haven't had much power to stop today's brand of bullies. Neither have police or prosecutors.

But that changes starting today.

That's when a new state law goes into effect.

About half of Nevada school students have been victims of cyberbullying, according to state Sen. Valerie Wiener, D-Las Vegas, who cited National Crime Prevention Council statistics.

"It is almost like a cancer," she said. "Cyberbullying is bullying with technology."

Today , cyberbullying by students through 12th grade becomes a crime in Nevada.

District attorneys can start charging these bullies with misdemeanor or gross misdemeanor offenses that can lead to jail time.

But under the new law, schools will do most of the actual enforcement through suspensions or discipline.

The law applies only to students who try to harm, threaten or cause emotional distress to other students, teachers or school employees.

The new law also directs teachers to explain to students why cyberbullying is harmful and to instruct them in the proper and ethical use of computers.

Bullying in the law is defined as when students carry out actions that are "highly offensive to a reasonable person" and intended to "cause the pupil to suffer harm or serious emotional distress."

Cyberbullying is bullying by means of electronic communication.

Letting most enforcement fall on schools has led to problems in other states.

The New York Times reported this week that parents in New Jersey have been outraged by schools' decisions to do nothing to students who sent threatening and sexually explicit e-mail to their children.

School administrators pointed out the threats were made by the children when they were at home, not in school environments. In court cases, judges found schools did not have authority to police student actions elsewhere.

Wiener, who co-sponsored the legislation with Assemblywoman Bonnie Parnell, D-Carson City, said perpetrators often do not understand or care about the harm or emotional damage they cause.

Typically students e-mail or send text messages to groups of their friends that slam other children. They might threaten to kill or beat them up, or set up after-school fights.

They also might make derogatory comments on their appearance, and post them in online social networking websites, or do "sexting," sending text messages boasting about having sex with other students.

Sarah Balogh, who graduated from Green Valley High School last month, said cyberbullying has not been an issue with her or her friends. Bullying was more of an issue in elementary and middle school anyway, she said Wednesday.

But she questioned whether schools would be able to crack down on a form of bullying that largely takes place outside of school.

"You can't use your cell phones in schools," she said.

High schools face bigger issues, too. Counselors are overworked and have too many responsibilities to adequately respond to students and their concerns over bullying, she said.

"It's hard for them (students) to take that one-on-one time for their social issues and the things they face in school," Balogh said.

During hearings on the legislation last year, state Sen. Barbara Cegavske, R-Las Vegas, said cyberbullying goes beyond just picking on fellow students. It also can be aimed at teachers.

She said that in some schools, students have taken cell phone pictures of teachers, doctored them to make it appear they were nude, and then e-mailed the photos around the Internet.

Law enforcement officers testified that teenagers even take nude and sexually explicit photos of themselves or others and then e-mail them to friends or post them on websites. Under the new law, this activity, depending on the circumstances, could be prosecuted.

Wiener said she is drawing up a bill to deal specifically with sexting. It will be introduced at the 2011 legislative session.

Although the cyberbullying bill was approved without opposition, Assemblyman Richard McArthur, R-Las Vegas, raised concerns during a hearing.

A former FBI agent, McArthur said the bill gives the bully the attention he craves.

"When a bully knows he is causing disruption, he is getting what he wants. When he finds out there will be absolutely no consequences, the bully will be able to not even worry about any punishment. If you do this with no consequences, I believe the result will be that more bullying will occur."

By placing the new law in the existing anti-bullying statute, Wiener and Parnell gave district attorneys the authority to bring charges against cyberbullies.

School superintendents also are directed in the law to compile a list of the acts of discipline they bring against cyberbullies and report that information to the state by Sept. 1 of each year.

Sam Bateman, a deputy with the Clark County district attorney's office, said he cannot recall any specific incidents of cyberbullying being forwarded to his office.

He expects school police now will investigate complaints and then submit serious incidents to his office for review.

"We don't prosecute anything until a law enforcement agency investigates it," Bateman said. "We will prosecute it if it is submitted to our office."

The new law also directs schools to set standards for computer education and the ethical use of technology. They must create a policy for "the ethical, safe and secure use of computers and other electrical devices" and discuss cyberbullying.

Clark County School District officials testified in favor of the bill.

Michael Rodriguez, a spokesman for the district, expressed confidence that teachers and principals can make a difference in stopping cyberbullying.

"Ultimately we rely on parents and students to let us know there is a problem," he said. "As technology changes, we have to adapt to it. Five years from now something else will be popular."

Cell phone use is not allowed at schools, but if students set up an after-school fight on Facebook or through texting, then Rodriguez said it would be considered a disruption to the school environment and school police would intercede.

During a hearing on the cyberbullying legislation last year, Parnell testified about a fifth-grader on the East Coast who committed suicide after he was continually bullied.

"We cannot be a civilization that does nothing about this kind of behavior," Parnell said.

Review-Journal reporter Lawrence Mower contributed to this report. Contact Capital Bureau Chief Ed Vogel at evogel@reviewjournal.com or 775-687-3901.