Cuomo Signs New York's First Cyberbullying Law

Assemblyman David McDonough, R-Merrick, and other local elected officials recently lauded the passage of New York's cyberbullying law. Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed the Dignity for All Students Act into law Monday.

According to the Daily News:

The bill requires schools to develop proper protocol to deal with complaints of email, texting or online harassment and designate an official to handle investigations.

Districts will also have to develop preemptive measures to prevent recurrences and create age-appropriate curriculum for students from kindergarten to 12th grade on “safe, responsible use of Internet and electronic communications” as well as “civility, citizenship and character education.”

The state Education Department plans to develop guidance on implementing the requirements by the time the law goes into effect on July 1, 2013, Newsday reported.

However the bill does not make cyberbullying a crime.

"With this legislation we have helped bring the Dignity for All Students Act in line with the socially diverse world of our children," McDonough said.

Island Trees Superintendent Charles Murphy said there are still many unknowns about the law and until the regulations are put together, the school won't know all the details.

"School districts are concerned about what our responsibility is in addressing cyberbullying that happens outside of school," Murphy said. "The issues that take place 'in school' already take a lot of time and I’ve heard schools may need to address more non-school items."

"We need to know more about these expectations since it doesn’t seem like this is our jurisdiction. We’ll know more in the upcoming weeks and we’ll work together with law enforcement to make sure cyberbullies are held accountable for their actions," he added.

What do you think about the new cyberbullying law? Tell us in the comments.