Data Indicates Disparities In Florida School Districts' Reporting Of Bullying Incidents

The Orlando Sentinel (11/4, Postal) reports that the Obama Administration's crack down on school bullying "was propelled by several high-profile cases in which students killed themselves after being bullied in some manner." But, some experts warn that the tragedies do not "mean there are more [bullying] incidents today than in the past." Others, including the ACLU, "worry new anti-bullying rules, particularly those targeting 'cyber bullying'...can trample on students' rights to free speech." Under Florida's Stand up for All Students Act of 2008, school districts must have "anti-bullying policies that address cyberbullying as well as the traditional kind." In addition, "the law...demands that bullying be punished by no less than suspension." Still, 2008-09 data on school bullying incidents throughout the state indicate that "administrators in different districts didn't agree on what constituted bullying or harassment." That year, "the Miami-Dade County school district, the state's largest, reported seven incidents... -- the same as tiny Glades County."