Ethical Issues Paper

EDL 620: The Superintendency

Cyberbullying

Clay Nolan
 The Dignity for All Students Act was signed into law on September 13, 2010, effective July 1,

2012. The basis for the Dignity Act is to prohibit harassment and discrimination of individuals on school

property or at a school function based on a person’s actual or perceived race, color, weight, national

origin, ethnic group, religion, religious practice, disability, sexual orientation, gender or sex. The Dignity

Act amends Section 801-a of NYS Education Law regarding instruction in civility, citizenship, and

character education by expanding the concepts of tolerance, respect for others and dignity. DASA

further amends Section 2801 of the Education Law requiring Boards of Education and BOCES to include

language addressing the legislative requirements in their codes of conduct.

The goal of the Dignity Act is to promote a safe and supportive learning environment in all public

schools, free from harassment and discrimination. The research indicates there is a direct link between

success in school and the environment in which student learning takes place. The research also indicates

that students are more likely to achieve their full potential in schools that have a positive school culture

and environments which students feel safe and supported. Creating a school culture of respect is

important and hard work.

The Dignity Act protects all public school students in NYS from harassment or discrimination by

other students or adults. It builds upon the SAVE Legislation by targeting discrimination and harassment

in public schools. Schools must have a code of conduct readily available on their websites, which

specifically reflects preventing of discrimination and harassment of students by students or staff. A plain

language, age-appropriate summary must be provided to all students. A complete code of conduct

should be given to each teacher and parents/guardians of students are required to receive a plain

language summary at the beginning of every school year. Schools are also required to include instruction

on awareness and sensitivity to harassment and discrimination within the protected classes. Many

schools already have a character education program in place, and have been able to adjust the program

to include the sensitivity training.

 Additionally, DASA addresses cyberbullying, which is when a person uses technology to

intentionally and repeatedly cause harm to another. This harm can be from such experiences as

emotional, psychological, or relational and result in consequences for students at school. Cyberbullying

is considered a form of harassment and is therefore covered under the act. This behavior that occurs

through e-communication using a school computer or other school-owed device, using any electronic

device while at school or on school property, or using any electronic device while at a school function,

would be prohibited under the Dignity Act. This includes computer, cell phone, texting, or other forms of

electronic communication.

Even though DASA should protect those involved with cyberbullying as a form of harassment, it

becomes an ethical issue for a superintendent since this form of bullying can be done from any location

including outside of the school day and school environment. Cyberbullying does not have to be solely

done on a school device either. Approximately 70% of Americans have social media profiles, where this

type of bullying commonly occurs, and they have readily and available access to these profiles at their

leisure. This form has become more prevalent since it is easy to do. Bullies can hide behind the mask of

being anonymous, or not, and feel more confident or powerful in typing their comments. A digital

environment disinhibits people. With traditional bullying done face-to-face, one is less likely to be rude

or aggressive since the bully cannot see the other’s face and reactions. But in the environment of

cyberbullying, there is a lack of these social cues, so the bully is more likely to be extreme with

comments. Finally, the intent to bully can sometimes be absent in the digital environment. Students do

not realize how their casual actions can escalate out of their control. And once something is posted to

the Internet, it can remain and be spread forever due to screenshots and common hacks. Deleting

something does not necessary rid the evidence or how it made someone feel.

Consider the following example from Olean, a young, high school boy breaks up with his long

time girlfriend. While they were dating, the girlfriend sends the boyfriend explicit images and videos
from her cell phone. After they broke up, the girl and the boy fought regularly because the girl wanted

to be partners again. After countless tries and effort to no avail, the girl decides to take a different

approach screaming profanities and inappropriate names in front of him and his friends in the hall on

the way to class. As a result, the boy forwarded the saved explicit images and videos of the girl that

night after school to his friends, who could then easily do whatever they would like with them as well,

sending them along or even posting them on the internet creating a never ending cycle. Now, the issue

of cyberbullying becomes ethical. Is this considered cyberbullying since it wasn’t done on a school

device? Can school officials show that it does or potentially will materially and substantially disrupt the

operation of the school or has interfered with the rights of other students?

Although every state includes some form of digital content as part of their harassment laws,

only some specifically address cyberbullying. The courts have not been very helpful either deciding

rulings on the jurisdiction of districts to go beyond the school environment to contain harassment. The

Supreme Court case Tinker v. Des Moines is the ruling that is commonly used to define cyberbullying

cases and uses the language of it being a substantial disruption at school. Superintendents need to keep

this at the forefront of their mind when thinking about disciplinary actions associated with the students.

It also becomes ethical because technology integration is a big push in school districts. One-to-

one initiatives are the new wave for buildings. Students have easy access to technology and platforms to

conduct the cyberbullying. This push of technology is crucial because it can enhance learning and

everything is at the touch of the fingertips. Plus, most students have now grown up in the digital age and

become more engaged and invested with content when some form of digital environment is being used

as a strategy. Student achievement also increases when technology is being used as a tool effectively in

the classroom. Superintendents need to prepare the districts for all the consequences that can occur

due to the digital environment revolution.

 The issue keeps developing as well since technology prevails in more and more classrooms and

homes causing different court cases with varying results. Layshock v. Hermitage Sch. Dist. involved the

school suspending and sending a cyberbully to an alternative education school for creating a fake

account of a high school principal. At first, the courts sided with the school, but after being reopened

due to appeals, it was determined that the school’s disciplinary actions were too much and had to pay

retribution. A similar case, A.B. v. State of Indiana sided with the state after A.B. posted negative

messages about a school dress code policy and created a group to demean the principal. The decision

was then reversed because the state failed to fulfill all requirements necessary for a harassment

charge. Different results occurred in the case, Wisniewski v. Bd. of Edu. Weedsport Central Sch. Dist. A

student created an icon of a teacher with a bullet through his head and spread it throughout the district

and Internet. The school suspended the student, which held up in court, since it caused substantial

disruption to the school community. J.S. v. Blue Mountain Sch. Dist. reveals another case of students

wanting to reverse the discipline placed upon them for creating a fake profile of a principal charging him

with being a sex addict and constantly flirting with students and parents. The court ruled in favor of the

school since this behavior had potential to disrupt school operations. With varying court cases, it is

difficult to determine what the disciplinary action should be and if that action will hold up in court

against the Tinker v. Des Moines ruling.

With these cases and rulings in mind, a superintendent needs to make sure the code of conduct

in their district for teachers, students, staff, and parents is up to date and current with all court cases

and DASA requirements in regards to cyberbullying. The language within the code should discuss the

when and how the cyberbullying occurs, such as on a school device in school or out of school or on a

personal device in school or outside of school. Another consideration would be to determine if school

Internet was used on a personal device or not. Along with the code, the disciplinary actions and choices
should be laid out in a manner that is consistent and also aligns with previous court decisions. When

districts did not have this done, issues started occurring, which raised the awareness of cyberbullying.

As mentioned previously, DASA requires schools to have a code of conduct readily available on

their websites, which specifically reflects the preventing of discrimination and harassment of students

by students or staff. Cyberbullying should be a part of these codes. The table below represents how

schools are dealing with this issue.

 School District Code of Conducts and Technology Usage Information

Environment
Disciplinary Social Media
for Digital
Includes Actions for Usage Acceptable
Last Cyberbullying Easily Citizenship
School District Cyberbullying Bullying B: Blocked Technology
Update Defined (In Accessible Ideas
Language Outlined L: Limited Use Contract
School v. Out Addressed
O: Open
of School)

Allegany-Limestone 2018 x x x x L x little

Andover 2018 x x x x L x some

Belfast 2018 x x L x little

Bolivar-Richburg 2018 B x some

CA-BOCES 2018 x x x x L x lot

Cattaraugus-Little
2018 x x x L x lot
Valley

Clymer 2018 X X X L X little

Cuba-Rushford 2018 x x x L x lot

Ellicottville 2018 x x x x B x little

Fillmore 2018 x x x x L x lot

Franklinville 2018 x x x x L x lot

Fredonia 2018 x L x little

 Friendship 2018 x x x x B x little

Genesee Valley 2018 x x x x L x lot

Hinsdale 2018 x x x B x some

Jamestown 2018 x x x x L x some

Olean 2018 x x x x B x little

Panama 2018 x x x x L x little

Pioneer 2018 x x x x O x some

Portville 2018 x x x x L x some

Randolph 2018 x x x x L x some

Ripley 2018 x x x x L x little

Salamanca 2018 x x x O x little

Scio 2018 x x x L x little

Sherman 2018 x x x x L x little

Southwestern 2018 x x x x L x lot

Springville-Griffith 2018 x x x x L x some

Wellsville 2018 x x x x O x lot

West Valley 2018 x x x L x some

Whitesville 2018 x x x x B x some

 These data points are important to determine if schools are taking preventative measures

toward the issue. Documenting these actions allows schools to have evidence if a policy is violated.

Listing the consequences, having students sign an acceptable use form, delineating where the offence

happens, and clearly outlining cyberbullying as an infraction, keeps the students in check by them

knowing the boundaries and disciplinary actions that will be administered. Additionally, these items

prepare the district to take proper procedural action if needed. Furthermore, it shows that steps are

being taken in order to provide securities for students and ensure that their safety from harassment is a

priority. For example, Cattaraugus-Little Valley starts teaching about digital citizenship as early as

kindergarten in a manner that supports the experiences students have at school and to understand that

technology in the classroom is a tool and not a toy. The focus becomes on taking responsibility for their

work, handling the devices with care, and respecting others by asking permission to take pictures of

them or their work. Starting in the elementary grades helps students become aware of the digital

environment, sets them up for success in later grades, and hopefully helps them realize how their

actions in the digital environment can affect others.

Restrictions placed on social media within the district can vary causing different outcomes in

both cases. When districts completely or partially block social media, students can easily access these

apps using their personal data plans. Also, new apps are appearing constantly, so a school district would

really have to keep up on the day-to-day updates and filters. More often times than not, students find

some way around the filters in order to use the apps. The only way to completely try to rid this problem

would be to ban personal devices for the whole day, but this notion would create even more issues. If

school districts do not block social media apps, they could be leaving the door open for students to take

advantage of the access, which could lead to cyberbullying. School districts are now realizing all of these

options and consequences. Some have started blocking social media only on district devices but leaving

them accessible on the guest networks.

 It is important for school districts to fully explain to students in the code of conduct, acceptable

use policy, and/or verbally that actions done outside of the school district concerning cyberbullying

could have actionable consequences imposed from the school district. Students need to realize that just

because cyberbullying can occur off of campus, repercussions could ensue from the school district if

substantial disruptions or the potential to do harm exists with the victim. Some school districts, like

Franklinville, have responded to this issue by updating their acceptable use policies to include parents to

provide a signature as well. They are trying to get the parents involved since the best prevention for a

cyberbully is for parents to communicate and educate digital responsibility when using devices. Other

schools, Cuba-Rushford and Wellsville, are signing up with programs such as Sweethearts and Heroes.

This is a group of motivational speakers to discuss the impact bullying has and how bystander

empowerment, empathy, and leadership can change a culture becoming someone’s Sweetheart or

Hero. Cuba-Rushford has even continued the movement after the speakers visited by creating a hashtag

on Twitter and days built into their year to honor the Sweethearts and Heroes that do kind deeds for

others.

One piece of literature that weighs in on cyberbullying acknowledges that this issue is a serious

problem for teens and young adults, but they don’t believe they will be victims according to the same

poll. It also revealed that parents and kids state social media is having negative effects on younger

generations. The participants in this poll noted that the responsibility to prevent these actions online

should be a parent’s. The research team suggests a policy needs to be in place at school districts that

follows along the lines of “see something-do something.” Anonymous reporting to school officials is one

way to accomplish this in forms of an app to capture screenshots, photos, or videos of the incident. With

this program, an added benefit would be that it could be for more than just cyberbullying but for safety

threats, drug or alcohol abuse, depressions, or other sensitive topics. All reporters remain anonymous

but can choose to identify themselves if they would like to discuss the issue. The only problem with this
type of reporting is that it could turn into “tattle-telling.” Reports could be coming in that are not

warranted or fake and causing more work for the administrator in charge of reviewing the reports.

Another piece of literature discusses how librarians and students can work together to combat

cyberbullying since there are very few resources that exist to help teens with this issue. It’s apparent

that students care about their friends’ online experiences, but the only safety advice usually given to

them is from adults, out of date, not in line with their experiences, or unrealistic. Librarians have a

unique role within the school when working with students. A different relationship can exist where

students feel more comfortable confiding in a librarian than their parents or other teachers especially

since librarians are being viewed as media specialists who teach digital citizenship, responsible use, and

confront cyberbullying the most. There are some behaviors to pay attention to as students use

technology that can indicate prior negative experiences such as escaping these lessons, being uneasy,

preferring solitude, avoiding talking about online activities, or be depressed, angry, or frustrated while

online. If a student confides in you certain steps can help guide the process, convey you are on their

side, remind them it is not their fault, remain calm, control facial expressions, listen, help them set up

protections on their device or app, and report the problem to the company. Most importantly, the

article suggests empowering students to promote kindness online. The digital environment is usually in

the negative eye but show students how positivity can be just as viral. It is critical to get youth excited

about specific ways they can use the Internet for peer influence to show care and compassion toward

others by either creating anonymous accounts to compliment or encourage others or public service

announcements for the school and community. Providing students strategies of what they can do

positively in the digital environment is just as imperative as teaching what they should not be doing.

The next piece of literature looks at the reasons of cyberbullying. This is important to

understand in order to be able to try to stop it. Cyberbullying can happen because of boredom, jealousy,

or unhappiness. The access and opportunity of online also leads to it because of the long and
unsupervised access to technology. Students who cyberbully usually do not feel any guilt or shame and

claim it makes them feel better especially if it gets them attention. They use it as a coping mechanism.

According to the CDC, girls are more likely to be the victims but also perpetrators. It also occurs in cycles

where victims usually cyberbully others. This information is key to understand which groups of students

should be targeted a little more when trying to prevent cyberbullying. It also gives insights to what the

cyberbully is feeling so help could be provided to the student. Being able to stop the actions before they

occur would be beneficial for the school district in order to avoid possible legalities.

The last piece of literature covers the topic of punishing cyberbullying if it happens off campus.

California and Illinois have passed laws explicitly allowing schools to punish students for cyberbullying if

it happens off campus, but free speech advocates challenge these laws. Justin Patchin, from the

Cyberbullying Research Center, advocates that this type of bullying should be punished especially since

one in three middle and high school students experience it. As courts have determined, if the

cyberbullying causes substantial disruption that interferes with the rights of the students then

disciplinary actions should occur. If students are being mistreated by their peers outside of school, then

there is probably no doubt they don’t feel safe in school. Research shows that students being bullied in

the digital environment are also being bullied in school, which does require disciplinary actions. If

schools are willing to punish bullies no matter where it occurs, students are less likely to partake in the

negative behavior. Teachers and administrators best deal with this punishment since they deal with

students on a regular basis. The response to online bullying needs to be appropriate but also

educational (creating anti-cyberbullying material or delivering digital citizenship lessons to younger

students).

On the contrary, Edwin Yohnka of the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois, believes

cyberbullying should be dealt with completely by parents. Parents should handle all off campus

violations of school rules including cyberbullying. If the victim still feels unsafe, then parents need to
make the school district aware. Policing students’ social media posts becomes an infringement on the

First Amendment. It also opens up the door of where to draw the line if other violations are being done

outside of the school environment. How could the school punish one thing but not the other? Edwin

brings up the idea of how important student-teacher relationships are and how they can become

damaged if teachers are delivering punishments to students for something that happens outside of the

classroom. Teachers should instead teach appropriate behavior for online alongside explaining why it is

wrong. This way, teachers can continue to be educators and not disciplinarians.

To deal with this issue, school districts should first be proactive in preventing it from happening.

Districts should adopt a curriculum for cyberbullying and begin implementing it as soon as possible to

every grade level. Sample curriculums, lessons, strategies, and books can be found in Appendix A. Along

with these resources, districts should adopt their vision regarding digital citizenship and what it means

to them since the Internet and social media are embedded in our students’ lives. It is the schools job to

make sure children are safe and use technology for positive interactions rather than negative. Digital

Citizenship should not be a class but more of a practice that is integrated into the curriculum. Teachers

of all subject areas should be able to model and implement different ways that social media can be used

for positive impact. Students can create a movement, share successes and share their writings with the

world. If schools allow that to happen then teachers can create great experiences and teachable

moments. Schools should look at digital citizenship as a bunch of do’s and not and as a bunch of don’t’s.

Districts also should update their code of conducts, accessible technology use forms, and behavior

consequences to appropriately reflect cyberbullying to make sure it is clear what constitutes as

cyberbullying and what the repercussions could be. If done correctly and appropriately, students will be

less likely to engage in the behavior, on or off campus, knowing that the school district can enforce

discipline, which should not be punishment but educational in nature.

 In conclusion, cyberbullying is an ethical issue since it can happen on campus or off campus.

Court cases have determined it to be an issue only if it provides substantial disruption to the school but

have ruled in different outcomes depending on the evidence provided. Being proactive in a school

district seems to be the best way to prevent cyberbullying by providing curriculum and infusing digital

citizenship into all subject areas. The parents and community are also necessary components when

dealing with the issue. They have a responsibility to help students how to behave online. Overall, it

seems the best rule of thumb is to tweet others how we want to be tweeted in the digital environment.
 Works Cited

Agnello, Kathleen. “Cyberbullying and Digital Citizenship at Cuba-Rushford.” Cyberbullying

and Digital Citizenship, 26 Nov. 2018.

Beckwith, Mark. “Cyberbullying and Digital Citizenship at Olean.” Cyberbullying and Digital
Citizenship, 27 Nov. 2018.

Bowen, Caitlin. “Cyberbullying and Digital Citizenship at Wellsville.” Cyberbullying and

Digital Citizenship, 30 Nov. 2018.

Carls, Mark. “Cyberbullying and Digital Citizenship at Friendship.” Cyberbullying and Digital
Citizenship, 28 Nov. 2018.

Conn, Kathleen. “Cyberbullying: A Legal Review.” Educational Leadership, March 2009.

Cook, Glenn. “Harassment Versus Free Speech: The Blurred Lines of Social
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Damani, Bijal. “Cyberbullying: Is It Happening In Your Class?.” Education Update, Jan. 2011.

Englander, Elizabeth Kandel. “Identifying and Responding to Cyberbullying.” American

Educator, Winter 2016, p. 28-29. Expanded Academic ASAP,
http://link.galegroup.com.apps/doc/A477086498/GPS?u=nysl_we_
caew&sid=GPS&xid=2bff6fe4. Accesssed 28 Nov. 2018.

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Thinking.” Literacy Today, Jan. 2016, p. 28-30. Expanded Academic ASAP,
http://link.galegropu.com/apps/doc/A439834300/GPS?u=nysl_we_caew
&sid=GPS&xid=0732af1a. Accessed 28 Nov. 2018.

Hinduja, Sameer, and Justin W. Patchin. “How Librarians and Students Can Work Together to Combat
Cyberbullying and Promote Kindness Online.” Voice of Youth Advocates, Feb.
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Digital Citizenship, 30 Nov. 2018.

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Digital Citizenship, 25 Nov. 2018.

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Digital Citizenship, 25 Nov. 2018.

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Digital Citizenship, 29 Nov. 2018.
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 Appendix A

1. Building Tolerance: Strategies and Tools for Talking with Your Children and School About
Bullying Presentation:
https://www.pioneerschools.org/cms/lib/NY19000288/Centricity/Domain/1/bully%20presentati
on.pdf
2. Sample Code of Conduct Presentation (beginning of the year with students):
https://www.pioneerschools.org/site/handlers/filedownload.ashx?moduleinstanceid=10617&d
ataid=16173&FileName=Code%20of%20conduct%202018019.pdf
3. Awareness/Educational Game for Students: https://www.commonsense.org/education/digital-
compass
4. Don Shomette (People of the Prize) Motivational Speaker: http://www.peoplearetheprize.com/
5. Digital Citizenship Presentation (#DigCitIMPACT):
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1naBjCorFWyRITanUpT3-
ehHBaWtS_v7hB9A6k7PquqM/edit#slide=id.g470e607771_0_1
6. Digital Citizenship Presentation (Let’s talk #DigCit…But First, Let Me Take a Selfie!):
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1oPCiZRh5V4TN8_RFl6RKchUlUbTcAidMW4YLLRRgVeY
/edit#slide=id.g37ca13e63a_4_12
7. Stop Bullying Prevention: https://www.stopbullying.gov/
8. International Society of Technology Education Digital Citizenship Articles:
https://www.iste.org/explore/categorylist?code=Digital+citizenship
9. Cyber Bullying: A Prevention Curriculum for Grades 6-12:
https://www.hazelden.org/web/public/08sumcyberbully.page
10. Safe and Supportive Learning: https://safesupportivelearning.ed.gov/
11. NYSED Office of Student Support Services: http://www.p12.nysed.gov/sss/
12. New York State Center for School Safety: http://www.nyscfss.org
13. NYS School Safety and the Education Climate: DASA Data Reporting:
http://www.p12.nysed.gov/irs/school_safety/school_safety_data_reporting.html
14. Common Sense Media: http://www.commonsensemedia.org/educators
15. Center for Safe and Responsible Internet Use: http://www.cyberbully.org
16. TeachersFirst: http://www.teachersfirst.com/safety.cfm
17. Cyberbullying Research Center: http://www.cyberbullying.us/resources.php
18. Bullying a School: Long-Term Outcomes for the Victims and an Effective School-Based
Intervention Program by Dan Olweus
19. A Case for Strengthening School District Jurisdiction to Punish Off-Campus Incidents of
Cyberbullying by Todd D. Erb
20. Don’t Suspend Me! An Alternative Discipline Toolkit by Jessica Djabrayan and John E. Hannigan
21. Words Wound: Delete Cyberbullying and Make Kindness Go Viral by Sameer Hinduja and Justin
W. Patchin
22. Bullying Beyond the Schoolyard: Preventing and Responding to Cyberbullying by Sameer Hinduja
and Justin W. Patchin