Valley school districts saving money by stopping cyberbullies

PHOENIX – As schools use technology more in the classroom, the problem of cyberbullying has escalated.

Now Valley school districts have more of an incentive to try to stop it.

New guidelines from the Child Internet Protection Act (CIPA) will give school districts big discounts on their telecommunications bill, if followed.

“That includes providing better training to teachers and students in regards to what is acceptable internet behavior,” said Tracey Benson, spokeswoman for the Arizona School Boards Association (ASBA).

The new guidelines also call for schools to better monitor their own internet networks more effectively and to try to monitor more things like social media and chat rooms where bullying is more prevalent. ASBA has sent out their own recommendations to local districts as to how they can easily comply with CIPA guidelines.

“School systems are getting computers in every classroom now,” said Tamacia Curry with I Will Not Bully Inc. “Some even let students take the school computers home with them. Whenever you open up larger channels for children to communicate, then you’re going to find pollution.

Curry is happy that schools now have financial incentives to crack down on cyberbullies. She said many of the schools will have to ask consultants to train both students and teachers.