Should Schools Be Allowed to Limit Students’ Online Speech? Unit 3 DBQ Should Schools Be Allowed to  Limit Students’ Online Speech?

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Doc 1 While the data indicate that girls are significantly more likely than boys to report having been cyberbullied or having been a cyberbully, the differences tend to disappear when students focus on the past 30 days.  Also, there appear to be some differences in the methods cyberbullies use depending on gender: girls are more likely to say hurtful or mean things, while boys are more likely to post mean pictures or videos.  While bullying has been a problem for years, digital technologies offer new methods of bullying. Perhaps most significantly, the Internet can allow a  bully to remain anonymous. Because of this anonymity, cyberbullies— including people who would normally not be bullies—lose their inhibitions about saying hurtful things. Psychologists call this the disinhibition effect.

Doc 1 How can you use this document to argue “YES” for schools limiting students’ online speech? 1 out of 4 of teen girls has been a victim of cyberbullying; 1 out of 6 boys has been a victim of cyberbullying. That is a serious problem that cannot be ignored. Cyberbullying can affect the self-esteem and academic performance of students. It must be stopped. How can you use this document to argue “NO” for schools limiting students’ online speech?  75% of teen girls and 83% of teen boys have never been targeted by cyberbullying. The problem is not epidemic. Kids might need counseling, not more rules and regulations.

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Doc 2 Should Schools Be Allowed to Limit Students’ Online Speech? “YES” The court clearly believes that schools should limit students’ online speech when that speech affects other students or creates a harmful school environment.  In addition to asserting that she had been denied her First Amendment rights, K.K.’s lawsuit called her punishment “cruel and unusual”. She said the suspensions had caused her to feel isolated, and she had become depressed  as a result. The court found that K.K. had known about the school district’s anti-bullying policy before she created the MySpace page. The school had acted according to the policy in punishing her, so its actions were neither cruel nor unusual. In agreeing to abide by the school’s behavior policy, K.K. had accepted the consequences that would come from breaking the rules.

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Doc 3 Should Schools Be Allowed to Limit Students’ Online Speech? “NO” Where faculty is concerned, a school must show that substantial disruption has occurred in order to punish a student for material posted online.  While the cases to date suggest that the First Amendment protects students’ ability to post insulting and mocking material about teachers and administrators, that does not mean that schools cannot address this issue in their policies. Conduct a class discussion of ways that schools could  address this kind of behavior without punishing students. For example, schools could offer education for students and parents about the negative  effects of cyberbullying behavior against teachers and administrators. 

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Doc 4 Should Schools Be Allowed to Limit Students’ Online Speech? “NO” Spurred by suicides among young people and other tragic cases, many states have passed laws addressing cyberbullying, cyberstalking, and online  harassment. Congressional committees have held several hearings on the issue of cyberbullying, and individual members of Congress have held hearings back in their home states or districts. But to date, a comprehensive federal cyberbullying law has not been passed at the federal level. According to this document, however, the problems young people experience online, and specifically cyberbullying, have been exaggerated. Overreacting by restricting students’ speech would not be a good policy; in addition, it would violate the Constitution. Therefore, schools should not limit students’ online speech.

New Jersey Laws New Jersey reportedly has the toughest anti-cyberbullying  law in the country, passed after the suicide of a  Rutgers student in the fall of 2010. Fourth-degree criminal offenses like cyber-harassment and stalking have a maximum penalty of up to 18 months in prison and a fine of up to $10,000. A third-degree crime such as terroristic threats, however, carries a penalty of three to five years in prison and a fine of $15,000. 

North Carolina Laws These protect you, specifically Any person who violates this section shall be guilty of cyber-bullying, which offense shall be punishable as a Class 1 misdemeanor if the defendant is 18 years of age or older at the time the offense is committed. If the defendant is under the age of 18 at the time the offense is committed, the offense shall be punishable as a Class 2 misdemeanor.

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Doc 5 Should Schools Be Allowed to Limit Students’ Online Speech? “YES” It supports limits.  The letter excerpted in this document, put considerable pressure on school  districts to closely monitor bullying and cyberbullying, telling schools they are responsible for addressing “harassment incidents about which it knows or reasonably should have known,” a difficult standard to meet.  This document shows that the Department of Education believes the school has the responsibility to limit students’ online speech in this case. The school has a special responsibility to do so when a target’s civil rights are being violated.