NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Tragically, teenage suicide rates are increasing. With that in mind, Tennessee lawmakers passed a new law in hopes of cracking down on all forms of bullying.
But the changes could pose quite the learning curve for students and parents.
"Clearly the legislature sees cyberbullying as an issue," said Nick Leonardo, NewsChannel 5's Legal Analyst.
Under the measure, cyberbullying is just as severe of a crime as in-person harassment. Starting July 1, adults found guilty could face a Class A misdemeanor. For school-aged children, at the very least, the school or law enforcement agency is required to send a report home with the child. For serious cases, it can involve a police investigation and a ruling from a juvenile court judge.
"They could make them do community service work," Leonardo said. "But they also bring the parents in too when it’s juvenile court. And so the parents get to feel a little bit of the pressure, probably more pressure a lot of times than the children feel."
Leonardo warns that determining what should be prosecuted may prove difficult.
"There’s a fine line between saying this person is mean, this person is ugly, I don’t like this person. Is that cyberbullying?" he said.
He thinks how it's interpreted may depend on where you live within the state.
"I think you’re going to see different District Attorneys, different police departments are going to view what constitutes cyberbullying is probably going to be in each location, and it’s going to probably be different when you have the parents calling the district attorney’s office or the police department on a daily basis — the squeaky wheel gets the grease," said Leonardo.
If nothing else, Leonardo thinks now is the time for parents to have tough conversations with their kids.
"Anytime you put something in an email or cyber world, it’s out there forever. So you better make sure that when you are communicating and using your devices, that you would say the same thing if Mom or Dad were standing there. If your school teacher or your Sunday school was standing there," he said.
Several other new laws go into effect July 1. We will highlight more as the summer goes on.
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