A trend we expect to see everywhere. Yes there are bullying laws in just about every state, but sometimes it doesn’t hurt to make them more specific… remember, those accused of bullying usually have parents willing to spend a lot of money on lawyers to defend the bullying via loopholes and clever arguments hiding behind the freedom of speech. Let’s take that away.
What’s really sad is that a second bill is basically d.o.a.: House File 143 would have imposed penalties on parents who fail to remedy their students’ bullying behavior. Now THAT is something I’d like to see! Then every parent would HAVE to be concerned with this epidemic and might not be so hesitant to use PC Pandora computer monitoring software to really truly know what their kids are doing online…
March 8, 2013
Bill would strengthen cyberbullying enforcement
School leaders hope to be able to police bullying using social media sites
By Adam B Sullivan, Iowa City Press-Citizen
A Statehouse proposal could give Iowa schools more power to combat cyberbullying.
Current law makes clear schools can deal with bullying on school grounds and at school-sponsored events, but House Study Bill 196 would expand the Iowa Code’s definition of bullying to include communication on social media websites, such as Facebook and Twitter, even if the correspondence takes place from students’ homes outside the school day.
The bill won initial approval in the Iowa House this past week. MORE: http://www.press-citizen.com/article/20130309/NEWS01/303090009/Bill-would-strengthen-cyberbullying-enforcement?gcheck=1&nclick_check=1