Pennsylvania schools are getting called to a higher standard on their anti-bullying policies; expanding cyberbullying protocol and updating parents on incidents is a big part of the change.
New state laws outline four significant changes to existing anti-bullying policy in the state. The updates were included in the recently passed state budget (on page 28 of this legislative document).
First, all of Pennsylvania’s 500 public school districts must now have a cyberbullying policy. The law explicitly includes artificial intelligence media as part of cyberbullying issues.
“Bullying obviously has existed for generations in some form or fashion,” said Aaron Chapin, president of the Pennsylvania State Educator’s Association.
Chapin, also a 5th grade teacher in the Poconos, says public schools have long combatted bullying– but are still adapting to new risks from technology.
“When it comes to using AI, they can create fake photos, deep fake videos.. now we’ve got ourselves kind of a whole new game. It’s a whole new layer to bullying,” Chapin said.
The new law specifies that students can be disciplined for online activity that happens outside of school. Behavior correction for cyberbullying should include methods to stop continued harassment– which can be complicated when activity is happening on a student’s personal device.
“There are going to be some legal challenges,” Chapin said.
Secondly, new state law mandates schools investigate all alleged incidents of bullying and, thirdly, that parents and legal guardians of involved students be notified as soon as possible.
“Whether the child is the aggressor or they’re the the victim, our parents in our schools need to know of this,” Chapin said.
Including families in school efforts to stop bullying could smooth some legal concerns, and lead to broader change.
“This is going to allow great discussions and conversations to be happening, not just between the district and these families, but as communities,” Chapin said. “We need to find a way to be making our communities safer.”
Parents should expect increased communication this school year; the law went into effect immediately, and schools must inform students of the update policy within 90 days of its publication.
However, designing consistent rules for how to investigate– and how to contact parents– can take time. A spokesperson for the Pennsylvania Department of Education says implementation guidance is “forthcoming”.
Fourthly, training on cyberbullying and its prevention will be included in several areas. For example, the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency must develop new professional development training around suicide awareness and prevention and cyberbullying awareness and prevention for teachers.
A school’s safety and security coordinator will receive and give training that includes cyberbullying awareness and preventions.
Lastly, when school districts report all incidents of violence or bullying to the Pennsylvania Department of Education, they must include specific data on cyberbullying and how many incidents included the use of artificial intelligence.
PCCD standards for professional development on suicide and safety trainings
schools report bullying incidents
investigate incidents
inform parents of incidents
costs remain to be seen
It applies outside of schools
