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CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (AP) — Illinois school districts have been working to update policies after a new state law on cyberbullying took effect in January.
The News-Gazette (http://bit.ly/1Dno46u ) reports the law broadened school districts' authority to address cases of cyberbullying. Districts can now step in when they find a student bullying another online, even if it happens off of school grounds or without the use of school property.
"In the past, it was difficult for school districts to deal with this kind of thing," said Monticello Superintendent Vic Zimmerman. "If it didn't have anything to do with our computers, there wasn't a whole lot we could do, even though it's still all about our kids."
Urbana Superintendent Don Owen said the district can now take disciplinary action in cases they previously couldn't. He says the district is looking to add a system to allow bullying reports to made online, similar to ones at Tuscola and St. Joseph-Ogden high schools. Urbana teachers will get more instruction about Internet usage.
Arcola school district is working to put together a new bullying response guide based on the law. The district gives all 800 students access to school-owned iPads, and Superintendent Tom Mulligan said they've avoided bullying issues by banning social media apps and limiting online game access.
What constitutes bullying can be difficult to define, Zimmerman said. Monticello High senior Alex Woolley said he often rethinks online posts, lest the text be interpreted as hurtful.
"There's this gray area," Woolley said. "It's hard to know where joking and sarcasm end and cyberbullying begins, but online bullying is something that emotionally or mentally breaks someone down."
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Information from: The News-Gazette, http://www.news-gazette.com
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