Legislative Work and Research To Combat Bullying

“Cancelling” is defined as “an individual's volitional act of publicly rejecting and actively pursuing harm against a perceived transgressor,”to “act punitively and visibly to harm the transgressor” for a transgression deemed “significant.” See, e.g., https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-science-behind-behavior/202007/what- is-cancel-culture.

• In this cyber world, bullying can be relentless, lightning fast, vicious and coordinated with others. Recent studies have shown that the social death penalty of being “cancelled” can have profound short-term and long-term mental health effects on teens. See generally University Release, Mizzou Ed Bully Prevention Lab (Aug. 26, 2022).

• Being bullied, harassed, intimidated and socially isolated are highly significant foreseeable risk factors for teen suicide. Indeed, the fatal connection between bullying and suicide has been well researched and documented – so much so that in 2010 extensive media coverage of youth suicides after bullying prompted the CDC to convene a panel of experts to study the relationship between youth involvement in bullying (whether perpetrator or victim) and suicide-related behaviors. See Hertz, M.S. and Wright, M.S., Bullying and Suicide: A Public Health Approach, Journal of Adolescent Health 53 (2013). After carefully reviewing the research and findings by the panel, the authors of this study concluded, inter alia, that bullying among youth is a significant public health problem; that it is prevalent and frequently has detrimental effects; and that there is a strong association between bullying and suicide-related behaviors. Id.

• Referencing the study by the CDC’s expert panel, the Government’s anti-bullying website, Stopbullying.gov, warns that “youth who report any involvement with bullying behavior are more likely to report high levels of suicide related behavior.”

• A recent influential paper, confirms what logic instructs – that cyberbullying is “an independent stressor associated with adolescent suicidality, even when accounting for offline peer aggression experiences.” Arnon, M.A. et al., Association of Cyberbullying Experiences and Perpetration With Suicidality in Early Adolescence, JAMA Netw Open. 2022;5(6):e2218746. An author of the study, Dr. Ran Barzilay, summarized the findings of the study: “Our findings suggest being a target of cyberbullying is an independent risk factor for youth suicidality ... For policymakers wishing to optimize youth suicide prevention efforts, this study should further encourage interventions for those who are being bullied online.” See Study Shows Link Between Cyberbullying and Suicidality in Early Adolescence, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, located at https://www.chop.edu/news/study-shows-link-between-cyberbullying-and-suicidality-early- adolescence.

• Given the high correlation between bullying/cyber-bullying and suicide ideation in teens, all 50 states have adopted anti-bullying laws for public schools, with many states mandating timely investigation and notice to the parents of the bullied student.

• Maryland is credited with having one of the nation’s most robust, comprehensive anti-bullying statutes for schools. In Maryland, public schools have a mandatory reporting policy for bullying incidents, which requires parents of both the perpetrator and victim to be notified. See MD Code, Education, § 7-424 and Maryland State Dept of Education, Model Policy, Bullying Harassment or Intimidation. All nonpublic schools that participate in State- funded education programs were required to adopt by March 31, 2012 – some 11 years ago – a written policy prohibiting bullying, harassment and intimidation. Per Code of Maryland, Education Article §7-424.3, such a policy also requires, inter alia, a written statement prohibiting bullying and retaliation against individuals who report bullying; standard procedures for addressing bullying incidents; and notice of an act of bullying, harassment or intimidation to the parent or guardian of the victim within three business days after the act is reported.

• Accreditation standards applicable to Landon similarly require that Landon have in place a written anti-bullying policy and that it consistently implement bullying awareness, bullying prevention practices and self-harm and suicide prevention policies. See, e.g., AIMS Standard 5.2 (requiring that the “school has in place and routinely and consistently implements policies and procedures regarding harassment, sexual abuse, and bullying awareness and prevention, including employee education and training”); MSA-CESS W1J (requiring that the school offer “Formal opportunities to educate students on a full range of child protection topics (such as bullying, personal safety, ... , self-harm”).

• These anti-bullying laws and accreditation standards set a governing standard of care for all schools in Maryland for addressing alleged bullying and cyber-bullying within their school communities.

• Given the foreseeable, potentially fatal dangers of cyber-bullying, Maryland also has enacted “Grace’s Law,” Md. Code, Crim. Law § 3-805, which criminalizes electronic harassment of minors that has the effect of causing “physical injury or serious emotional distress.” The Maryland Legislature has been praised for enacting Grace’s Law, considered by many to be the country’s toughest law to date regarding cyber-bullying.