School board cracks down on cyberbullies

CHICAGO, July 29 (UPI) -- Cyberbullying is now considered as serious an offense as burglary, gang activity and more traditional forms of bullying, the Chicago Board of Education said.

A student using the Internet, a cellphone or another device to send or post text or images intended to hurt or embarrass another student faces mandatory suspension, possible expulsion and a police investigation, the board said in approving a new student code of conduct.

The tough stance -- regulating student behavior away from school and outside school hours as well as at school during the school day -- is required to tackle a growing trend of cyberbullying, school officials said.

Studies suggest as many as 4 in 10 kids are targeted by bullies online, the Chicago Sun-Times said.

Students who use computers or phones to "stalk, harass, bully or otherwise intimidate others" will be suspended for five to 10 days and could be referred for expulsion, the board said.

Cyberbullying incidents will also automatically be referred to the Chicago Police Department, which could bring criminal charges, the Sun-Times quoted the board as saying.

Students caught using school computers to harass others could also lose their computer privileges.

Cyberbullying rose to national attention in 2007 after 13-year-old Missouri schoolgirl Megan Meier committed suicide after allegedly being told by a boy who had flirted with her through the social networking Web site MySpace that he no longer liked her and "the world would be a better place" without her.

Her parents later learned the boy, "Josh Evans," never existed but was an online character created by Lori Drew, then 47, who lived four houses down the street.

Because Drew, the mother of one of Megan's former friends, had taken Megan on family vacations, she knew Megan had been prescribed antidepressants, prosecutors argued.

Drew was indicted in 2008 and acquitted in 2009.