Moms/Lawyers Seek to Help Schools Eliminate Cyberbullying

When schools starts again in September, administrators will no doubt be seeking ways to effectively deal with bullying.

“Everyone has a story about either being bullied in the schoolyard or a story about someone they knew being bullied in the schoolyard,” said Lorri Eskenazi, a New City lawyer. “Well the schoolyard, if you will, now includes cyberspace.”

Eskenazi is tired of seeing the sad and extreme stories in the news of teens like, 12-year-old Gabrielle Molina, 17-year-old Gregory Spring and 17-year-old Rehtaeh Parsons, who committed suicide after being cyberbullied. She and two other mothers—Tammy Schwartz and Denise Weiss—who are also lawyers started Advocates Against Cyberbullying (AAC), an organization aimed at helping school districts and parents prevent cyberbullying.

“The goal of our organization, Advocates Against Cyberbullying (AAC), is to protect our children from the type of torment that has been fueled by inappropriate use of social media,” said Eskenazi.

According to Eskenazi, 52 percent to teens report being victims of online attacks. The AAC will be available to help school district comply with New York’s Dignity for All Students Act, which requires school districts to report instances of harrassment and cyberbullying and harassment, as well as a July 2013 requirement that district’s incorporate language into their codes of conduct that addressees the legislation.  The AAC is currently working on creating protocols that can be implemented to prevent and stop cyber bullying.

“As attorneys, we understand the requirements and realities of the new law, and are working to fine tune protocols to assist school districts in following and implementing the new legal requirements,” said Eskenazi. “As mothers, we understand the heartache and helplessness associated with cyber bullying. As founding members of Advocates Against Cyber bullying (AAC), we are committed to creating an atmosphere where children can learn, thrive and flourish in a safe environment.” 

According to Advocates Against Cyberbullying, some of their future steps will be:

• Meeting with selected drafters of the new legislation found in the Dignity For All Act, a part of the New York State Education Law, so that the full intent of the law can be carried out.

• Exploring the value of consulting with School Districts so that they can become well versed with the requirements and mandates outlined in the new law and the potential consequences should they fail to follow the intent of the law.

• Developing an Advocacy and Educational component so that children can become aware of tools they can use and parents can become more attuned to what their children are doing in Cyberspace and what parental rights they have should a school district fail to follow the requirements of the new law. A parent handbook may be down the pike.

“School bullying has been around forever,” said Eskenazi. “A goal for Advocates Against Cyber bullying is to play a role in controlling the spread of what possibly could be a Cyber epidemic when it comes to exploiting the most vulnerable of children. Using our combined experiences, legal training and passion for guiding our future agenda, Advocates Against Cyber bullying hopes to facilitate the enforcement of the necessary stopgap measures we envision eradicating Cyber bullying.”