https://www.neisd.net/domain/1019

            Cyberbullying is an important topic for counselors to understand since we live in an age of technology. Technology has begun to influence how students communicate, and in turn, has changed the landscape for handling internal and external conflicts. Counselors are at the forefront of this issue and are tasked with meeting the needs of students and their families. Unfortunately, providing guidance to students has now become even more challenging with the increased use of social media platforms. Counselors are not able to monitor and assess the school culture because they do not have access to what students are sharing, saying, and posting online. Without this knowledge, many underlying issues can go unnoticed and quickly begin to transform into larger problems when students arrive on campus. 

·       Based on the law, all cyberbullying cases and concerns should be redirected to an administrator. If a teacher approaches a counselor with a bullying issue or student complaint, the counselor should instruct the teacher to allow the student to write a statement (V. Perez, personal communication, February 25, 2020).

·       A counselor’s sole priority during a suspected cyberbullying situation is provide mental or emotional support. This support includes talking about what bullying is, common feelings associated with being bullied, and allowing the student to explain how the situation has impacted them personally (V. Perez, personal communication, February 25, 2020).

·       The last best practice that I learned through my interview is to never change the victim’s schedule unless it is requested. This puts a hardship on the victim and makes them feel as though they were blamed for disclosing the alleged act. The bully will be moved to another class or into a different learning setting (V. Perez, personal communication, February 25, 2020).

An emerging issue related to cyberbullying is the fact that it has gone down after the principal banned phones during school hours (V. Perez, personal communication, February 25, 2020). This is because students usually forget about conflicts by the time, they get home. Before this rule, cyberbullying cases were occurring consistently because students had access to their phones and could quickly post something harmful as a result of a personal situation or conflict. One significant event that has resulted instead, is the imbalance of power over multiple events that occur (V. Perez, personal communication, February 25, 2020). There are some students who are not adept with technology or current social media trends, or who do not have a phone at all. They may be unaware of what is being said about them online, creating an imbalance of power (V. Perez, personal communication, February 25, 2020).

I asked Ms. Perez these two questions: 

For a bullying or cyberbullying case to require an investigation by administration, it needs to be “consistent and significant” (V. Perez, personal communication, February 25, 2020). There was one example of a situation that was not consistent and significant that I hope you all understand, in order to realize the difference between the two. A student comes into the counseling department and states he was bullied for not having a phone (V. Perez, personal communication, February 25, 2020). It is a counselor’s job to briefly investigate the concern and see if there is a pattern (V. Perez, personal communication, February 25, 2020). Counselors do not need to find out specific information about the situation because that is an administrator’s job (V. Perez, personal communication, February 25, 2020). If there is a consistent pattern of bullying, the counselor should refer the student to the assistant principal or principal’s office depending on the severity. The counselor will follow-up with the administrator tasked with the investigation and provide what he or she already learned. 

You all may be wondering what type of training is available for handling bullying as a counselor. Most of the training occurs at the beginning of the school year during a leadership conference (V. Perez, personal communication, February 25, 2020). There are breakout sessions about counseling that you all can choose from and attend. Our district has made it clear that counselors should not handle bullying issues (V. Perez, personal communication, February 25, 2020). If there is any type of general information or laws that we need to know, it will come from administrators (V. Perez, personal communication, February 25, 2020).

I thought they she gave interesting responses and I learned a great deal from our interview. 

            This resource is informative to the topic of cyberbullying as it details possible legal, confidential, and ethical concerns for school counselors. This resource outlined previous causes when a student threatens to self-harm or is thinking about suicide because of being bullied. The blog also describes school counselor responsibilities and defines the duties that should not be delegated to them. For instance, any sort of abuse disclosed by a student should not be addressed by the counselor, but instead, referred to administration (American School Counselor Association [ASCA], 2020). 

administrators. Retrieved from https://www.educationdive.com/news/sexting-incidents-in-schools-present-challenges-for-administrators/503320/

Link: https://www.educationdive.com/news/sexting-incidents-in-schools-present-challenges-for-administrators/503320/

·       School administrators have seen an increased amount of sexual text messages, also known as “sexting,” being referred to them because of student issues (Jacobson, 2017).

·       State laws vary on this topic and how to respond, especially considering that if images are circulated among educational adults. Transferring or viewing images or videos might be considered possession of child pornography (Jacobson, 2017).

·       Counselors need to be aware of this prevalent issue and prepare for repercussions of sexting incidents. Some states and school districts have already started teaching lessons on privacy laws and guiding students to think before sharing private pictures of videos. 

Link: https://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2018/06/06/courts-take-expansive-view-in-transgender-rights-cases.html?r=1586118449&mkey=26921CAC-FC0B-4757-9B5E-2DA19ACB7456

·       This news article informs the audience of the current judicial and legislative view toward lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBTQ) students in a school setting.

·       A Virginia district court ruled that a female-born transgender teenager could use the boy’s restroom and locker room, citing Title IX of the Education Amendments Act of 1977 and 14^th Amendment (Doe by and Through Doe v. Boyertown Area School District, 2018; Walsh, 2018).

·       These court judgements could have serious implications on students who claim to be LGBTQ, as they are often bullied and discriminated against for their personal views and beliefs.  

·       Educators and counselors need to be aware of the ever-changing viewpoints concerning judicial laws so they can adapt and make informed decisions if a situation arises. 

·       Gender stereotyping and discrimination is viewed as being against the law. Other students may feel uncomfortable with a girl using a male restroom or locker room and turn to cyberbullying that individual to get them to stop or express their views.

o          Kowalski v. Berkley County Schools, 652 F.3d 565 (4th Cir. 2011). 

o          Judicial Law

o           http://www.ca4.uscourts.gov/Opinions/Published/101098.P.pdf

o          A high school student named Kara created a MySpace webpage at home which implied that a student named Shay had herpes. The web page titled “S.A.S.H” stood for Students Against Shay’s Herpes and included 100 other high school students who joined the group (Kowalski v. Berkley County Schools, 2011). The school suspended Kara for ten days, citing bullying and harassment as reasons. Kara then followed with suing the school for violating her freedom of speech rights. The court's stated that the school did not violated her freedom of speech rights since the student was connected to the school. That special relationship was enough for the school to be granted the right to discipline her. The court also ruled that the website would negatively impact Shay’s educational environment. 

o          Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, 29 USC § 794.

o          Statutory Law

o          https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/504faq.html

o          Although there is no specific constitutional law that references the act of bullying, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 does protect students with disabilities (29 USC Code § 794). This law has regulations and policies in place to deter discrimination against students with a disability. The law protects a student’s rights in environments where the educational institution receives federal funding. 

o          The First Amendment of the Constitution of the United States of America.

            U.S. Const. amend. I.

o          Constitutional Law

 https://www.senate.gov/civics/constitution_item/constitution.htm#amendments

o          Students have the ability to express their feelings through wearing articles of clothing, the right to refuse to speak, and the ability to use their first amendment rights in and outside of the school setting. 

o   Guarantees that a student can express their opinions within reason, without fear of persecution.

Texas State University policy specifically describes discrimination and harassment violations for its’ students in the policies and procedures statements (Texas State University [TSU] Handbook, 2019). The administrative law requires any faculty member, graduate teaching assistant, office staff, or any other individual in a supervisory position to report, “when they learn of a possible instance or allegation of discrimination” to the diversity office (TSU Handbook, § 04.01, 2019). The office will first contact all involved parties and conduct a mediation in order to create a suitable resolution. The investigation needs to be completed within 10 days and presented to the person making the claim via mail (TSU Handbook, 2019). The complainant may communicate directly with the perpetrator and can seek guidance or assistant from the Dean of Students’ Office, counseling center, academic dean, or even a faculty member (TSU Handbook, § 05.03, 2019).

            The Bully Project is a great resource that I discovered during my interview with Veronica Perez (V. Perez, personal communication, February 25, 2020). This resource is approved and promoted by our regional educational service agency. The Bully Project organization is helpful for other school counselors because it offers numerous lessons and ideas for small group counseling. Furthermore, if a counselor wanted to teach a whole class, there are helpful videos and even a movie that can be shown to students. There are resources specifically created for students, teachers, parents, and even Spanish speakers. This resource informs me about cyberbullying by providing helpful strategies for addressing cyberbullying and working with students to express their feelings. After investigating the website, I now know that there are numerous intervention strategies available for counselors to utilize. Furthermore, this resource is beneficial for other prospective educational graduate students, such as administrators, because it explains the benefits of social-emotional learning. 

·       The state must create additional funding measures to support their own educational agencies, in order to monitor cyberbullying investigations through hiring trained technology support specialists. With each passing generation, students are becoming extremely knowledge with posting online. Not all administrators and school districts have the necessary technology skills needed to conduct a thorough investigation. The technology department can purchase a program that identifies key words and phrases from online social media websites (Lane, 2011). 

·       District bullying policy is clearly posted on every school’s website in common language that every individual can understand. The counseling department needs to post available resources and local organizations that provide cyberbullying assistance without the use of distracting legal and common educational terms.

·       Staff should receive a considerable amount of professional development in understanding Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. District representatives can provide information regarding common misunderstandings and help educators be observant of instances of bullying and discriminatory practices. 

·       The principal of a school should enact clear expectations for administrator and counselor duties. Administrators need to handle discipline measures when it comes to bullying, where counselors should provide a “safe space” to meet student’s emotional and social needs (V. Perez, personal communication, February 25, 2020). Too often, counselors are faced with legal and liability issues because administrators do not know the current laws concerning bullying or cyberbullying (Tex. Ed. Code § 37.0832(c)(3); V. Perez, personal communication, February 25, 2020).

·       All school districts should be required to have a bullying checklist and flowchart readily available to quickly understand if the alleged bullying claim is superficial or not (The Bully Project, n.d.). Because administrators only have 30 days to finish a bullying investigation, discerning whether a claim is legitimate or not can help administrators and counselors avoid time consuming cases (V. Perez, personal communication, February 25, 2020). Using the example is attached below can assist education leaders in appropriate delegation of their time (Texas School Safety Center, 2017). 

American School Counselor Association. (2020). Legal and ethical faq. Retrieved from     https://www.schoolcounselor.org/school-counselors-members/legal-ethical/legal-ethical-       faq

American School Counselor Association. (2016). ASCA ethical standards for school               

Counselors (Standard No. A.9.d) [PDF file]. Retrieved from https://www.schoolcounselor.org/asca/media/asca/Ethics/EthicalStandards2016.pdf.

David’s Law, Tex. Ed. Code § 37.0832(c)(3)

Discrimination Prohibited, CFR 34 § 100.3

Doe by and Through Doe v. Boyertown Area School District, 897 F.3d 518 (2018).

Jacobson, L. (2017). Sexting incidents in schools present challenges for 

administrators. Retrieved from https://www.educationdive.com/news/sexting-incidents-in-schools-present-challenges-for-administrators/503320/

Kowalski v. Berkley County Schools, 652 F.3d 565 (4th Cir. 2011).

Lane, D. (2011). Taking the lead on cyberbullying: Why schools can and should protect students    online. Iowa Law Review, 96(5), 1791–1811. Retrieved from             http://search.ebscohost.com.easydb.angelo.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=64 442871&site=eds-live.

Martinez, S. (2020, February 17). Students want NEISD to acknowledge bullying at Reagan        High School following teen’s suicide on campus. SA Current. Retrieved from             https://www.sacurrent.com/the-daily/archives/2020/02/17/students-want-neisd-to-   acknowledge-bullying-at-reagan-high-school-following-teens-suicide-on-campus

Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, 29 USC Code § 794.

Texas School Safety Center. (2017). Bullying checklist [Online Image]. Texas State University.         Retrieved from https://locker.txssc.txstate.edu/c723f5d4e207da14eac6fea3dd02fc7b/Bullying-Checklist-       BW.pdf

Texas State University. (2019, June 7). University Policies, UPPS § .04.04.46(9). Retrieved from https://policies.txstate.edu/university-policies/04-04-46.html

Texas State University. (2019, June 7). University Policies, UPPS § 05.03. Retrieved from             https://policies.txstate.edu/university-policies/04-04-46.html

The Bully Project. (n.d.). Join the movement. Retrieved from http://www.thebullyproject.com/

Walsh, M. (2018). Courts take expansive view in transgender-rights cases. Education Week,          37(34), 26-27. Retrieved from https://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2018/06/06/courts-                      take-expansive-view-in-transgender-rights-                    cases.html?r=1586118449&mkey=26921CAC-FC0B-4757-9B5E-2DA19ACB7456