Wisconsin Senator Proposes Bill to Empower Schools to Fight Cyberbullying

As of now, schools in Wisconsin do not have the authority to discipline cyberbullying incidents that takes place off of school grounds. State Senator Tim Cullen wants to make a policy change.

Cullen has proposed Senate Bill 427, a law that would expand the definition of bullying to include posting electronic messages that others could see as well as posting messages containing lewd or lascivious language. The bill also empowers schools to address bullying behaviors that happen outside of school grounds when those behaviors create a hostile learning environment.

“In a nutshell, the bill addresses a type of bullying that existing state law does not address,” Cullen said. “Existing law specifically refers to bullying that occurs on school property, at school functions, and in school vehicles. School officials sometimes believe that if the bullying occurs away from school – such as texting or social media – they can’t do anything about it. This bill says schools can take action and they can make that part of their policy on bullying.”

Janelle Taylor, a 17-year-old victim of cyber-bullying who wrote to Senator Cullen, inspired him to introduce the bill. Taylor hostile responses to posts that she made on Twitter (News - Alert) and Facebook. She also noted that some fellow students had hacked into her MySpace account and had posted crude photos of other women. Taylor attends Beloit Memorial High School in Cullen’s district.

“I know I'm a strong person and I can take any criticism that comes toward me for this, because I have a family at home that really supports me, but not everyone does,” Taylor told the Beloit Daily News. “There are so many people who want to stand up against this, but don't feel like they can because more could happen to them. I just don't want to see it happen anymore, not for me, but for everyone. I just hate it.”

The Wisconsin Department of Instruction conducted a 2011 Youth Risk Behavior Survey that brought attention to bullying behaviors at BMHS. Students at the school reported that nearly 20 percent of them had been bullied electronically over the past 12 months. In addition, 19 percent of students at the district’s middle school reported being bullied.

“On social media, people have nameless, faceless conversations,” said BMHS social worker Faith Mattison. “It’s so much easier for them to threaten or say mean things to each other if they don’t look at each other’s faces. In person, you see the hurt on their face and respond to it. With Facebook (News - Alert) or texting, there’s never a face or feeling attached to it,” she said. “I try to teach kids that text or Facebook post has a person attached to it, and you may be harming someone else.”

Beloit’s Director of Pupil Services, John Humphries, stated that students who create a hostile learning environment at BMHS through cyber-bullying could be subject to suspension or expulsion.