Running Head: SOCIAL MEDIA BULLYING AND SCHOOL DISCIPLINE 1

Student off Campus Social Media Use Effecting the School Day

Nicole Darby

Central Michigan University

 SOCIAL ISSUES AND DISCIPLINE IN SCHOOLS 2

Abstract

This policy analysis reviews a school district’s role in handling the issue of bullying through

social media and protecting the rights to freedom of speech for students. Review of past

litigation and Supreme Court rulings were referenced. Key factors in determining the major

players in creating a change in policy were identified by researching activist groups focused on

protecting the First Amendment Rights. Three solutions have been provided to solve the

problem statement of defining how schools should handle students off campus conduct

disrupting the normal school day. The solutions include an education program, outside agency

support, and administrative guidelines for administrators.

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Introduction

Student discipline regarding freedom of speech has become a topic of discussion with

implications both locally and nationally. More recently, a national student walkout occurred

across school district campuses for students to protest against school violence. Other avenues for

students to convey their feelings on different forms of social media are being created every day.

Students can document their experiences on Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, and other blogging

sites. They can also use social media to bully other students or administrators through cyber

bullying.

Problem Statement

What is the responsibility of the school district to discipline a student who breaks a code

of ethics using social media or participates in cyberbullying? Also what are the implications for

discipline if not occurring on school grounds? Recent court decisions, such as Layshock v.

Hermitage School District have made schools rethink how they are handling these types of

situations. More pressure has been placed on schools to discipline bullying and social media

attacks between students and school educators. Students that have free speech misconduct off

campus and it disrupts the school day put schools in a predicament. Requiring school districts’

to discipline could potentially cross the line of freedom of speech and diminish their students’

Constitutional rights.

One of the areas drawing the most attention is when a student makes a threat to the safety

of a school, whether it be against another student, teacher, or administration team via social

media. The school has the responsibility to determine whether or not the threats are for school

wide acts of violence. Districts currently do not have a guide book for these types of situations

and must carry out investigations on a case by case occurrence. Supreme Court cases have ruled
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on the threats based on if true danger was eminent when the school took action. One case, Burge

v. Colton School District (2011), ruled in favor of the student because his threat was perceived to

have been an empty threat with no indication of follow through (Keierleber, 2015). Therefore

schools need to be prepared with a policy for instructions on how to proceed with discipline on

students making social media threats while also not violating their democratic right to freedom of

speech.

More attention has been drawn to cyber bullying in recent years with the increased use of

technology. However, the severity of the issue depends on who is involved in the activities. For

example, student on student bullying is more often upheld by the courts as a responsibility of the

school district. Administrators have to determine when to step in and take action to protect

students against any type of bulling that may inflict harm on to other students.

When it comes to situations where a student uses social media to express opinions on a

teacher, the schools ability to discipline can often be questioned. The Supreme Court typically

does not rule in favor of the school if a threat of danger is not eminent. In this case, schools have

to proceed with caution and should consult their attorney’s before taking any form of action

against their students. The Layshock v. Hermitage School District case is a current example of

ruling in favor of the student. This case involved a building principal, a high school student, and

social media. Unauthorized MySpace profiles were created for the principal by the student and

reflected inappropriate behavior (Wossom, 2011). Major factors in the decision include that the

profiles were done outside of school and did not interfere with the learning process on school

grounds, (Layshock v. Hermitage School District, 2011). Another instance of a student and

administrator case involved Clayton Valley Charter High School. A picture from an off campus

fitness locker room was taken of the administrator and then shared on social media. Law
 SOCIAL ISSUES AND DISCIPLINE IN SCHOOLS 5

enforcement actually stepped in for this incident and took legal action against the student

(Herold, 2017).

Major Actors and Coalitions

The major players influencing an increasing need for a change in policy include students,

activist groups, teachers, school administrators, and lawmakers. In March of 2018, students

demonstrated a national walkout to protest against school violence. Organizing this public event

on a national level put schools on high alert as they prepared for how to handle the walkout.

Students are no longer standing by when their school day is threatened with violence. Although

students do not set policy, their actions prove that they want changes put into place before more

violence occurs on school campuses across the nation.

Matt’s Safe School Law

One voice that cannot be quieted is the one of grieving parents who have loss children to

bullying and school violence. Although it is hard for families to get new policy initiated, they

often gain media support through their tragic stories. However families can take a negative

action and then turn it into something positive with the help of lawmakers. This is true in the

story of Matt Epling and the Matt’s Safe School Law.

Matt Epling was a victim of a hazing incident which was then followed by threats and

more bullying. Although Matt’s family was in the process of getting charges filed against the

students who assaulted him, Matt took his own life. In response to their tragic loss, Matt’s

family created a Website to help gain traction for new proposed anti-bullying legislation. His

parents also joined the Bully Police USA to continue to foster positive change (Eppling, 2006).

Through the work of the Epling family and support from lawmakers, Matt’s Safe School

Law was passed. The revised school code Act 451 enacted changes that prohibit bullying and
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require schools to take action before and after incidents occur. School boards are required to

pass a policy that has been shown to contain all of the necessary components to meet the law

requirements. The Department of Education required schools to submit documents on their

policies by May 31, 2015 if they did not have a policy currently in place (State of Michigan).

Although many schools had policies in place, they had to be adjusted to meet all of the new

enacted components.

The required components include that a school official has to be identified for handling

matters regarding the policy and a procedure task list also has to be established. Reports also

have to be filed should an incident occur. The law also defines bullying at school and what the

school means as far as on the premises or use of computers. Cyberbullying was also defined in

the revised school code. It states the term bullying is applicable if effecting physical and mental

health of a student (State of Michigan).

School educators also play a role in creating and following the policies set in place for

them by administration. Teachers and administrators have a duty to operate with restraint with

dealing with student free speech. If a teacher overreacts in a heated situation, the school could

pay the ultimate price. For example, if a student wears a t-shirt that promotes a political party,

and the teacher disagrees with the t-shirt, he or she should proceed with caution. Wearing the t-

shirt itself it not disrupting class especially if it is not vulgar. However if the teacher comments

on the t-shirt, it could turn the situation into an issue. An administrator’s role is to prepare staff

with appropriate training to avoid situations, such as the t-shirt example. Sometimes

administrators may need to step in if the situation gets escalated.

American Civil Liberties Union

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The American Civil Liberties Union, (ACLU) has been working since 1920 to, “defend

and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to all people in this country by the

Constitution and laws of the United States”. Although the ACLU works with multiple liberties

such as human rights, voting rights, women’s rights, and racial justice, the focus for this paper

will be on student free speech. The ACLU Website gathers information for visitors and

organizes it in a user friendly way. Based on student speech and privacy, they have links for

blogs, press releases and various court cases.

National Coalition Against Censorship

Another activist group raising awareness on freedom of speech is the National Coalition

Against Censorship, (NCAC). Per their Website, the mission is to, “promote freedom of

thought, inquiry and expression and oppose censorship in all its forms” (NCAC.org). A key

concept to take away from the NCAC and other activist is that freedom of speech is not checked

at the door when a student or educator enters the school (NCAC.org). They also provide a list of

actions that are protected and items that could result in school discipline for students. Protected

items include off campus student protests or protest during non-instructional time. Schools may

be allowed to take action against any person promoting violence against a district or using

explicit language.

Tinker v. Des Moines Independent School District

One of the most well-known court cases involving student freedom of speech is Tinker v.

Des Moines Independent School District. In this case, students protested the Vietnam War by

wearing black armbands to school to mourn the war death toll. Mary Beth Tinker was one of the

students involved in the protest. The school took action against the students, and the Supreme

Court ended up ruling in favor of the students. The black armbands did not disrupt the
 SOCIAL ISSUES AND DISCIPLINE IN SCHOOLS 8

instructional learning of students and therefore the school could not discipline the students

according to the Supreme Court. (Tinker v. Des Moines Independent School District, 1969). The

ACLU participated in the defense for the Tinker v Des Moines case. Several years later, Mary

Beth Tinker has been working with the group again. In 2013, she traveled on a “Tinker Tour” to

reach out children (Tinker 2013). She is still a relevant player even today in promoting changes

for young adults to understand their rights.

Proposed Three Problem Solutions

Three solutions for the problem statement include an education program for students,

administrative rules for discipline, and the use of an outside agency for handling the situation.

Each answer takes the schools role from a different view point and also determines who the role

of responsibility falls upon.

Education Program

The first solution calls for Legislatures to pass mandates for an education program to be

created to teach students appropriate online etiquette and the dangers on social media. This

option would give schools the opportunity to get to the root of the underlying social issues,

causing students to act out both on and off campus. Since the judicial system has ruled many

different ways on whether schools have acted appropriately in disciplining students, this option

gives districts’ an option to prevent the situation before it occurs. It would involve a curriculum

being established for schools to use for multiple grade levels. A funding source would also have

to be established to make sure schools could afford to offer the new education program for all

students.

Administrative Guidelines
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The second solution involves students and educators meeting in the middle to find a

balance between free speech and discipline. With this option, schools would accept the

responsibility of helping to alleviate social problems both in and outside of schools. Students

would work with administration to set standards for expected activities and outcomes. They

could work together to set a time prior to the start of the school year to organize guidelines.

Students would be allowed to express their views openly as long as it does not disrupt the

learning of fellow students. Bullying in this example would be disciplined only if it became an

issue at school and created problems during the school day. The student walkouts that took place

in March of 2018 fall under this solution. Media outlets reported on the incidents in various

schools. The events were peaceful and students acted with restraint and control to keep the focus

on their initiatives. Therefore, school administrators did not have to take action. This solution

would have the school take action, but only when necessary to keep learning from being

uninterrupted. In order for this to work, a clear understanding of policies should be established

regarding social media, planned protests, and bullying. Here in lies the issue where a policy

change could be more developed to guide schools in setting up sample procedures. If schools

had more backing from the Department of Education, they could enforce discipline without

opening the district up to litigation claiming acts of diminishing students’ freedom of speech.

Outside Agency Involvement

The third solution would make schools keep a hands off approach to off campus bullying

and social media misconduct. Law enforcement would assume this responsibility. This option

protects the free speech of students and allows students to express themselves without school

involvement. With this answer, the scenario of cyber bullying would not become a school issue.

Schools would not be held responsible for what students do via social media against other
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students or staff. The responsibility of the social issue would switch back to police if a situation

would happen to get out of control. Law enforcement would be responsible for investigating

student conduct and taking legal action if necessary. If the misconduct was causing a disruption

during the school day, an officer would be contacted for handling the problem.

Policy Report and Recommendations

The use of social media and cyber bullying amongst young kids has grown exponentially

over the past few years.

Education on Bullying and Social Media Programs for Students

In order to aid schools in handling students off campus social media and bullying

activity, education programs should be established. Milner references that 81% of teenagers use

social media, (Milner, 2017). The statistics on how many of those kids were either bullied or

acted as a bully is astounding. Rather than schools enforcing discipline, they can educate

children to change the underlying issues resulting in the disruptive behavior.

In an article called Social Media: Guidelines for School Administrators, O’Donovan

(2012), recommends reaching, “Reasonable balance between teachers’ rights to free speech, the

protection of students, and the use of social media as a learning tool that is viable for bona fide

school business.” Transparency of the policies for students and staff is very important. This

could potentially prevent a situation that could lead to unwanted media attention and litigation.

Target Audience

The target audience for getting the policy put into place is on the Federal and State

legislative level. Lawmakers need to setup the mandates for educators to follow and then

enforce the implementation nationwide. This needs to be a Federal mandate so schools all act in
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the same manner. Schools should be provided with direction from a Federal backing otherwise it

may not get the support of school boards or community members.

Dr. Smith was interviewed on this topic and explained the perception from the local level.

He stated that schools’ currently have to act with little guidance from the state or federal

governments. When schools respond differently to situations they open themselves up for

liability. The only reference for a school to use would be past court cases. Typically a school

does not have time to research a situation before having to respond to a situation where a student

has performed an act of misconduct off campus. Administrators often take action to solve the

immediate problem and then call their lawyers for recommendation before the school board takes

final action on student disciplining.

NEOLA policies help districts’ stay compliant with law changes if they subscribe to their

service. This helps a school stay on top of the latest changes when court cases get settled and set

new precedents. An example of this would be Matt’s Safe School Law. Once the changes were

mandated, NEOLA created sample language for schools to update their policies to remain

compliant in their guidelines.

Instruments

There are two policy instruments that can be used for the problem solution. Mandates

and redistributive instruments are recommended for fixing the problem. Mandates from the state

level would provide schools with guidelines and curriculum for teaching children how to deal

with social media and technology appropriately. The new programs could be setup as a class or

special programs built for different grade levels. For example, a program for elementary, middle

school, and high school grades.

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Parts of the new program could be setup to model requirements with Matt’s Safe School

Law. First off, getting recognition by the board of educations’ as they pass the new policy and

curriculum will help it be more successful. Then schools can also report back to the department

of education on participation. There would also be a penalty for failure to follow the

implementation. Once schools use the program, overtime it may reduce the number of student

discipline cases which could be used as an indicator of success. If the number of reportable

incidents does not get reduced, then lawmakers can use this evidence to make adjustments to the

guidelines.

However to roll out a new program, funding will be necessary to get participation. If the

mandates were unfunded, it would likely be unsupported by schools. Schools would have the

difficult choice of doing the minimum to meet the new requirements due resource allocation

elsewhere. Redistributive as a policy instrument could be used to get funding for the new

programs. In an interview with Dr. Smith, Region II MASA Legislative Committee Chair, he

discussed the importance of designated money for programs to educate children in social media

and online bullying. He went even further to suggest funds for additional social workers and

guidance counselors could help tackle the problem, (MASA Region II Legislative Committee

Chair, personal communication, March 5, 2018).

Criticisms

One of the criticisms for education programs on is that what happens off campus should

not involve the school. Therefore is it the schools responsibility to take action to discipline

students off campus activities that are disrupting the school day? When it comes to activities

involving freedom of speech, the coalition groups mentioned earlier would have criticisms. First

off, they would probably argue that the school should not be able to teach their students what or
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how to speak their minds via any social media or any other avenue. Coalition groups working to

protect civil liberties such as free speech would likely lobby against the Federal government

establishing classes or afterschool programs for such activity. This could result in testimony or

editorials being published to sway Legislatures against it.

In order to offer rebuttal against this criticism, with the help of legal counsel to review

the program, Legislatures could ensure Democratic rights are not being diminished. Attorneys

would vet the curriculum prior to it being released for educators to put into the curriculum in

their schools. The coalition groups could also offer input as well, prior to it being released for

educators to start teaching.

A second criticism is that teaching this curriculum to elementary, middle school, and high

school students may be over excessive. A solution could be to eliminate it in the lower grades,

but that is not recommended. Preparing students at a younger age is necessary because IPADS

and Chromebooks are used often in the lower level grades. Therefore more kids are getting

online at an earlier age.

Also teaching lessons on social media etiquette does not prepare students for the MSTEP

tests or meet graduation requirements. This argument is not relevant because kids are not

educated for test taking purposes only. They also do not learn only the core subjects such as

math, English, or science. If this was the case, schools would not offer elective courses for

students to choose from in middle and high school grades. After discussing with a high school

principal, this criticism did not hold much ground. Mr. Moran, Principal for Kingsley Area

Schools, stressed the need for mentoring and guidance through an education program. He also

pointed out the extra curriculum would be better during the regular school day as opposed to

after school programs (High School Principal, personal communication, April 24, 2018).
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One group not previously mentioned that may have an issue with the new program is

parents. This could possibly tie into the argument of what is the educational purpose of the

program. Parents may wish to keep their kids in rigorous classes and not a mandatory elective

class for social media/bullying. If parents had concerns about the program they could express it

with building administrators and the Board of Education for their school. Another option for this

problem would be for a school to send home permission slips for parents to sign off if their kids

can attend the social media and bullying training programs/classes. This way a parent would

have to give consent for their kids to participate. However, this would have to be established in

the guidelines so all schools followed the protocol per getting parent permission slips.

Funding for the new program is also a criticism of putting a new mandate in place. If

funding for this education plan comes from the school aid fund then it takes funding from

another area. Also will the funding be supported over time or will it be a one time funding

sources? Districts that implement the program will want funding that can cover the cost from

year to year and not only for the kick off year. Funding will need support from Legislatures and

interest groups to carry longevity. A catalyst for longevity will be as school violence continues

due to kids off campus actions, more groups will get on board with supporting the new program

funding sources.

Implementation

The implementation change theory that best represents the roll out of the solution for

schools to handle off campus activities interrupting the school day would be Fullan’s model of

change. There are four parts to Fullan’s change model which includes initiation,

implementation, continuation, and outcome (Fullan, 1982). Each step is important for a new

program change to successful from start to finish.

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In order for initiation to work educators need to stand behind the research presented on

bullying and social media misconduct affecting the classroom. Buy in from school leadership

teams, teachers, and communities is necessary. Without this support, the program will not get

off the ground to reach children of all ages. As a social issue that has pushed its way into the

classroom, parents have to understand why the need for an education program is necessary.

Children may not want to participate, especially in after school programs if their parents are not

in agreement that it is beneficial. Having parents sign permission forms allowing their kids to

participate in the program can aid in getting kids to attend. If parents can feel as though they

have a say in the new program perhaps it would increase participation. Another option to

influence buy in would be to offer to let parents watch a class. They would not participate, but

parents could offer feedback to administrators.

The first step in implementation is for funding allocations to be determined for each

school. The allocations could be setup as a per pupil funding allotment. Therefore the

distribution would be the same amount per student. Another option would be a flat rate for each

district to be funded based on the number of buildings. Schools can use the funding to offset the

salary and benefit cost of a teacher or guidance counselor to administer the program. Another

option would be an afterschool enrichment program to be created for all students. It would be up

to the school to determine the best use of the funding allocation based on their resources

available.

The Department of Education should develop an application schools can use to report

how they will plan to use the available funding. Then the Department of Education can either

approve or deny the application. This system could be setup to mirror how schools apply for

Title I funding through a consolidated grant application process. This would make sure the funds
 SOCIAL ISSUES AND DISCIPLINE IN SCHOOLS 16

are spent appropriately. This will help the continuation of the program with financial backing

from the Department of Education.

The final piece of the implementation process is a year-end review or report stating the

outcomes of the program. An expense report would be submitted to the Department of

Education showing how the money was spent for salaries and benefits or material costs. Schools

could also submit data on the number of students by grade level who received training.

Collecting data on the number of students whose parents opted out for their kids to receive the

training is also important. This figure will tell the Department of Education if parents are

approving of the new program or not. Also what or how should schools package the program to

get more parent approval?

Over time schools could look at the statistics of bullying and social media discipline

incidents to track if the program has made an impact on their student activities. Which at this

point, the program could be reconfigured based on the results to reach the most desired outcomes

for each school.

Conclusion

In conclusion, federal and state legislation for schools has not caught up with the

advancements in technology. Students are online and connected more than ever both on and off

campus. It is unrealistic to think that what a student does off campus does not translate in to

chaos in the classroom. Especially when the students’ actions are recorded or documented

online and shared with the public. A negative outcome of this has been reflected in the violence

occurring across school campuses nationwide. Students do not know how to handle the

increased amount of exposure, which can result in personal or mass violence. Kids are more
 SOCIAL ISSUES AND DISCIPLINE IN SCHOOLS 17

vulnerable online because their peers can access their information or post information about one

another.

Schools can either be reactionary after the fact or work to prevent the behavior that

disrupts the learning process during the normal school day. After researching and conducting

interviews on the issue, the preventative solution is the most agreeable choice. Schools need to

take action to put procedures in place until the law has the opportunity to catch up with

technology. This is evident in actions schools are already taking to be proactive. Schools are

making decisions on a local level until guidance can be delivered from the Federal and State

level of government.

An example of how one school acted preventive in preparation for the student walkouts

that happened in March 2018 was discussed with Mr. Tousley, Superintendent for Frankfort-

Elberta Area Schools. They chose to get ahead of the game and work with students and families

to make the walkout orderly. The activity was not necessarily a walkout as the students gathered

in the gym as opposed to walking out of the school. Although the activity was setup by the

students, the school wanted to make sure student safety was a priority as the event was held

inside. The student council group organized the event and held a presentation in the gymnasium.

They led a presentation in the school gym with posters promoting kindness as opposed to a

protest. The school had about 150 students participate in the event (Superintendent, personal

communication, April 6, 2018).

In summation, the Federal government should work with schools to help prevent the

cyber bullying and social media issues disrupting the school day. With proper planning and

guidance, as seen in the example of the student walkout, a school can benefit from warding off
 SOCIAL ISSUES AND DISCIPLINE IN SCHOOLS 18

disruptive behavior before it becomes an issue. The need for the policy change is more

important than ever due to the increasing amount of social media use.
 SOCIAL ISSUES AND DISCIPLINE IN SCHOOLS 19

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