Staff Editorial: Mira Costa addresses cyberbullying competently, fairly

All over the country, schools are struggling to deal with the issue of cyberbullying. This relatively new form of harassment is defined as bullying that takes place through the Internet. Social networks have not only become more prominent means of student interaction, but platforms for cyberbullying as well.

Although many civil rights advocates would disagree, schools should be allowed to regulate online conflicts between their students, especially if those conflicts affect students’ lives on campus. Students may criticize the administration for overreaching, but as soon as one student begins to impair the learning ability of another student, the school has the right to act responsibly and respond appropriately

According to Principal Ben Dale, the Mira Costa administration generally intervenes in any bullying situation that occurs outside of school when the learning environment of the involved students is affected by the harassment or if the bullying is discussed on campus.

Some have claimed that the school’s regulation of cyberbullying amounts to a violation of free speech. However, the Costa administration is justified in taking a cautious stance toward the matter, as it is responsible for protecting its students while they are on campus to ensure a safe learning environment.

California Governor Jerry Brown signed Assembly Bill 746 into law this past July. The bill strengthens anti-bullying laws and broadens the powers public schools have in addressing the issue.

The bill theoretically gives schools the authority to regulate any student disputes on social networking sites that could be considered bullying. The scope is broad, and it’s unclear whether the bill will prove effective or not. Its constitutionality remains untested in a federal court case, but Dale has rightly chosen to not strictly enforce the bill’s guidelines until clarification is provided.

The administrators’ application of the law is a step in the right direction, though, because it gives the school flexibility, but Costa’s administration should only use that flexibility to protect the learning environment. The school should neither take the place of law enforcement officials nor create a police state through abuse of the powers granted by the bill.

The safety and security of each Mira Costa student needs to be the administration’s top priority, and by keeping a broad, somewhat unspecified set of standards for what constitutes punishment for cyberbullying, the school does just that.

Costa effectively focuses its efforts on maintaining a productive learning environment by only exercising control over cyberbullying that directly affects the learning environment or is discussed at school, instead of policing all students’ actions outside of school.