Cyber-Bullying Policies In K-12 Public Education: An Analysis of the Legal Implications of School Interventions

Open Access
- Author:
- Johnson, Benjamin
- Graduate Program:
- Educational Leadership
- Degree:
- Doctor of Philosophy
- Document Type:
- Dissertation
- Date of Defense:
- May 15, 2012
- Committee Members:
- Jacqueline A Stefkovich, Dissertation Advisor/Co-Advisor
Jacqueline A Stefkovich, Committee Chair/Co-Chair
Erica Frankenberg, Committee Member
Roger C Shouse, Committee Member
Shaun L Gabbidon, Special Member - Keywords:
- Bullying
Cyber-bullying
Cyber Harassment
School Interventions
Free Speech
Online Speech
School Policies
School Law - Abstract:
- In many K-12 public schools across the United States, interventions in cyber-related incidents are very contentious. Intrigued, I sought to understand the sources of the contention through a qualitative analysis of cyber-bullying issues. This study consists of a combination of legal analysis and content analysis. The goal was to examine the legal implications of school interventions by answering four questions: 1) did the school districts mentioned in several court cases litigated between 1998 and 2011 had specific policies addressing cyber-bullying; 2) to what extent the school officials mentioned in the court cases followed the disciplinary recommendations in their school policy; 3) were specific elements of legal precedents reflected in school policy documents; and 4) to what extent can the presence of legal precedents explain the legal uncertainty that plagues school interventions in cyber-related issues. To answer the aforementioned questions, past court opinions/cases, state statutes, and school policies were retrieved from the appropriate authorities (see Appendix K: The study in a nutshell). Contrary to popular assumptions, the findings suggested that a great majority of the school districts mentioned in the selected court cases did not have any clear policy addressing cyber-bullying. A little more than half of the school districts that had policies, which addressed either traditional bullying or online communications issues, took disciplinary actions that were aligned with the recommendations stipulated in their policy documents. Similarly, legal standards or precedents were reflected in several schools’ policy documents. Though, the extent to which those policies could be considered as cyber-bullying policies was discussed in depth. To answer the last question, the themes and patterns identified from the court cases were analyzed. The study concludes with recommendations for policymakers and future researchers.