Washington ponders cyberbullying

Washington state Sen. Jeanne Kohl-Welles is introducing a bill that would include cyberbullying in schools' statewide anti-harassment policies and make perpetrators subject to disciplinary action.

Cyberbullying runs the gamut from "ridiculing classmates on Web sites and spreading rumors through blogs to bombarding someone with harassing instant messages or publicizing their personal information," writes USA Today.

"It's limited only by the imagination and the technology that kids have access to," said one cyber-abuse expert. OK, that's frightening.

Under Washington state law, school districts have policies prohibiting bullying - "written, verbal or physical acts that negatively affect a student or the school environment." Kohl-Welles' bill would add cyberbullying to that list, and even though it's part of a school policy, actionable incidents do not have to take place during school hours or on campus.

Via USA Today