Cyberbullying has become a new and growing problem within today’s society (Hanel, Trolley 33). On May 9th, 2007, the Minnesota State Legislature first amended the original bullying law from 2005 in attempt to strengthening it (Minnesota State Legislature, “Approved 2005”, “Amended 2007”). As stated on a report by the United States Department of Education, Minnesota has one of the weakest bullying laws in the nation (United States Department of Education, “Analysis”). Bully Police graded Minnesota’s law as a C-, the lowest grade of all bullying laws currently regulated in the U.S. (Weber, “MPR News Investigation”; Bully Police, “Minnesota 2007”).
Minnesota’s bullying law simply requires K-12 schools (elementary, middle, and high schools) to have a written policy against “bullying”. As mentioned later, the law does not state the different types of bullying, definitions of each, or what each type includes. Therefore, schools have a difficult time trying to differentiate, understand, and identify all types of bullying (State of Minnesota, “Amended 2007”).
In this paper, I will be comparing bullying laws between Minnesota and New Jersey. I will argue that in order for Minnesota’s bullying law to be properly implemented, K-12 schools need to have a uniform anti-bullying policy. This can be accomplished by requiring schools to adopt a policy that includes the mention of both traditional and cyberbullying. In addition, the policy should explicitly define both types with an emphasis on cyberbullying. The policy must also state the actions the school must take following each incident.
First, I provide background information on bullying. There are two types: traditional bullying and cyberbullying. Both types need to be addressed, becau...
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Weber, Tom. Part 3: School Boards Sought Weaker Law. n.p., 16 May 2011. Web. 29 Oct. 2011. .
Weber, Tom. Suicides Have Parents Questioning District’s Policies. n.p., 23 Sept. 2011. Web. 1 Dec. 2011. http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2010/09/23/anoka-hennepin-suicides/>.
Weber, Tom. Task Force is No Guarantee State's Bullying Law Will Change. n.p., 29 Nov. 2011. Web. 17 Dec. 2011. .
Weber, Tom. To Prevent Bullying, What Schools Do Often More Important than Policy. n.p., 17 May 2011. Web. 17 Dec. 2011. .
Willard, Nancy E. Cyberbullying and Cyberthreats. Champaign: Research Press, 2007. 1. Print.
School for students should be a safe place to learn, grow, and develop into impeccable human beings. Bullying has been a major problem for years. As times have changed, and technology has taken over. Bullying has become harsher, and dangerous. Students have more ways to when it comes to bullying, with endless options. Cyberbullying in Michigan has become more of an issue over the years, leading to serious crime offenses. Since technology isn’t going anywhere, this offense will only advance. After careful review of Lamphere School District policy’s, student handbooks and Michigan state laws and policies have a great affect with the First Amendment on cyberbullying.
Bully Police USA: A Watch-dog Organization, Advocating for Bullied Children & Reporting on State Anti-Bullying Laws (2012). Retrieved from http://www.bullypolice.org
The word “school” brings nothing except goosebumps to many students nationwide. Bullying has been around since schools themselves. However, in the recent decades, the term “bullying has gone far overhand. After all of these years of tears, cuts, and suicides, there still has been no solution. The only option we have now is, to have bullies convicted with criminal charges.
“Keep a Lid on Bullying with a Complaint Box.” Curriculum Review, Dec 2003, 11. PaperClip Communications. Infotrac 15 Aug 2004.
With this unfortunate circumstance, schools need to put a stop to bullying. Informing the school and the community on the issue of bullying is the first step in ending it. To continue, the next is to make rules that will prevent kids from wanting to bully other students. Also, creating an anti-bully committee and a bullying report office in schools will help reduce bullying. With cyber bullying being so difficult to detect, we inform parents and students about safe internet use and ask parents to monitor their child internet usage. Bullying is
The definition of bullying uses broad statements to define the actual meaning. Because of this, people may view the definition differently than others. Bullying can range from physical violence to verbal abuse to even cyberbullying. Most people do not realize how common cyberbullying actually is. Over half of teens and adolescents have been bullied online and almost the same number have engaged in the bullying (“Cyber Bullying Statistics”). Cyberbullying is becoming more and more prominent throughout this time period because of the technology continuing to expand around the world. Each year this statistic increasingly grows due to the technology
Hurst, Marianne D. “When It Comes to Bullying, There Are No Boundaries.” Education Week. 24 (2005): 8.
Stories such as Monique’s prove that there are policies out there that consistently fail to work. One is called zero-tolerance policies, and while these succeed at sending the message that bullying is not tolerated, there are several problems with them. Nora M. Findlay believes, “One of the most serious problems inherent in zero tolerance is that it treats dissimilar problems in a similar way” (14). Secondly, the United States Department of Health and Human Services declares, “Students and teachers may be less likely to report and address bullying if suspension or expulsion is the consequence” (“Support the Kids Involved”). Two other policies that are used but never works is called peer-mediation, and conflict resolution. In “Myths about Bullying”
Bullying is defined as abusive behavior that targets someone’s gender, religion, race, sexual orientation, or nation origin. Laws against this kind of behavior in school should be in place. These laws help prevent suicide, keep society in order and morals intact while providing legal protection, and help prevent longer lasting negative effects.
America has struggled with bullying for many decades. Bullying is a broad topic. Bullying can be defined many different ways as well as expressed in different ways and places. Bullying has different effects on everyone. Bullying is not only physical, but also affects the victim emotionally and socially. Cyber bullying and verbal bullying are different ways someone harms another person. Sexual harassment is a major form of bullying as well. “Bullying Laws” defines cyberbullying as online emails, text messages, or posts on social media and other websites (“Bullying Laws”). Examples of verbal bullying would be name-calling, threatening, and teasing. Bullying can be between peers, or between different ages. People are not aware of the laws that are in place. “As of October, 2010, 45 states had bullying laws” (“Bullying Laws”). Due to the fact, bullying is so common between many age groups and done in many ways, it is important to recognize the problem and make policies and laws to reduce bullying between all ages.
Bullying has been a part of schooling for as long as children have been congregating. To some it seems like a natural, though uncomfortable, part of life and school experience, while to others it can mean terrifying experiences which spoiled and characterized otherwise happy years in school. Dan Olweus, a pioneer in bully behavior research documented that 2.7 million children are affected as victims, and that 2.1 children act as bullies (Fried, 1997, as cited in Aluedse, 2006). With bullying cited as the reason for violent, gun-related crime in the past few years, school districts as well as national governments have put anti-bullying policies in place. Bullying is a complicated phenomenon, involving more than one child demanding lunch money from a smaller child. It is a worldwide epidemic hitting schools everywhere. Virtually everyone has seen or experienced bullying. With technological advances, bullying is even hitting the internet. Parents, teachers, students and governments agencies alike are attempting to put a stop to bullying practices.
DeLeHunt, Michael. "Bullying: What to Do About It; Myths and Facts About a Problem That Can Occur Anywhere, Any Time." Florida Times Union, 4 Sept. 2013. eLibrary. Web. 24 Oct. 2013.
Neimen, Samantha, Brandon Robers, and Simon Robers. “Bullying: A State of Affairs.” Journal of Law & Education (n.d.):n. pag. Print.
McQuade, III, Samuel, James Colt, and Nancy Meyer. Cyber Bullying: Protecting Kids and Adults from Online Bullies. First Edition. Road West, Westport: Praeger Publishers, 2009. 47-49. Print.
Rodriguez, Andre A. "Schools Tackle Bullying ; By Andre A. Rodriguez." Gannett Co., Inc.. 22 oct. 2007: A2. Web. 29 Mar. 2014. .