By Elizabeth Ling, DFER NY State Director
State Senator Jeffrey Klein has launched a New York Cyberbully Census aimed at gathering information from Grade 3-12 students to provide a comprehensive picture of the problem of electronic and online harassment in our state.
If you’re a school leader, please encourage your students to weigh in and take this short, anonymous survey. The data from the Cyberbully Census, which is expected to run through year-end, will be collected and released during the upcoming legislative session that starts in January.
Klein’s data-gathering exercise follows his September introduction of legislation to toughen New York’s harassment laws to account for cyberspace violations, in response to several teens committing suicide after being bullied online. Klein’s bill would expand second-degree manslaughter to include cyberbullying-related suicides, and also update third-degree stalking to include cyberbullying, of people under the age of 21.
Elizabeth Ling oversees strategy and operations for DFER’s New York State advocacy programs. She focuses on building coalitions of various education reform groups, and works with legislators and government officials to help shape public education policies.