Pawnee city staff final

DIGITAL CITIZENSHIP: PAWNEE CITY STAFF Bobby Truhe Harding & Shultz (402) 434-3000 btruhe@hslegalfirm.com H & S School Law @btruhe

What’s on the agenda?  Cyberbullying  Sexting  Appropriate staff social media use

Social Media

Game Platforms

Social Media is Here to Stay And your kids are using it:  More YouTube content in 60 days than the first 60 years of “Big 3” networks  95% of all teens are “online”  70% of 12-13 year olds have cell phone  85% of all teens have cell phones  81% of teens are on social media  91% of teen users take/send/rec. photos  Daily teen texting up 200%

How Common is Cyberbullying?  95% of teen internet users witness cyberbullying on social media  66% of teens see others “joining in”  21% of teens admit to piling on  33% of teens have been a victim (59% are girls)  5% of teens try to help  7% of parents are “concerned”…

Cyberbullying Nebraska’s own example of cyberbullying on iChat

Divagirl: Hey, loser, watch your back. tmt323: What r u talking about?

Divagirl: Why don't you kill yourself while u r ahead? tmt323: Why can't you just leave me alone?

Divagirl: Ugly girls like u need to be put in their place.

Other Examples  Seattle, WA “Friends”: Students who “liked” Facebook page bullying a classmate were all suspended, and a judge upheld all the suspensions  Memphis, TN “Oddsmaker”: Honors student suspended for 180 days for commenting on a friend’s status

School-Related Consequences  NEB. REV. STAT. 79-2,137  Definition: “ongoing pattern of physical, verbal or electronic abuse”  Consequences: • • • • • •

Loss of extracurricular privileges Detentions Loss of recess Suspension Expulsion Alternative School Assignment

Civil Consequences  Schools, student and parents getting sued • Insurance might pay • Money judgments • Home/car foreclosure • Injunctions and restraining orders against kids  Courts: “deliberate indifference”  OCR: “knew or should have known”

Fulmer v. Swidler (Pa. 2003)  Middle school student created website:“Teacher Sux” • • •

Compared math teacher to Hitler Had picture of her decapitated Asked for contributions toward hit man  Teacher sued  Jury awarded $500,000  Similar suit by principal settled

Mihnovich v. Williamson Co.  Student adopted from Ethiopia • Received mean and racist texts • Facebook page: “Hate Black **** N.M.!

Who Else Does?”

• Received nude photograph of a female classmate

 Sued school and 31 classmates for $1.1 million

Boston v. Doe (Ga. 2012)  “Fatbook” Profile  12 year-old girls

Boston v. Doe (Ga. 2012)  “Fatbook” Profile • Languages • Hobbies • Fake stories • YouTube Videos  School couldn’t punish  Court: parents can be liable for their kids’ bullying

Criminal Consequences  NEB. REV. STAT. 28-311.01:  Terroristic Threats: “threatens to commit any crime of violence …”

• With the intent to terrorize another • In reckless disregard of the risk of causing such terror  Class IV Felony punishable by 5 years in prison and/or $10,000 fine  “Rebecca’s Laws” across U.S.

Twitter

Cooks v. Tulsa Sch. Dist., et al  Student changing after volleyball  Teammates held down, took picture of her and posted to Twitter; others retweeted  Family suing • Twitter • School district • Student who took pic • Students who retweeted the pic

Ask.fm

Polk County, Fla. case  Student bullied on ask.fm and Kik • “Why aren't you dead?”

• “You should die.”

• “Wait a minute, why are you still alive?”

• “Go kill yourself.”  “Yes ik I bullied REBECCA nd she killed her self but IDGAF”

Yik Yak

Yik Yak  Anonymous Twitter/Facebook  Users can post messages visible to users within 5-10 miles

Yik Yak Cases  Massachusetts and New York • School evacuated after bomb threats • Student posted about “ammo”

 Alabama

• Student arrested after cops traced bomb threat to his phone in the school

 Illinois and Georgia

• Cyberbullying of classmates and multiple threats of suicide

Rumor/Confession Accounts

What can you do?    

Closely monitor disruption of class I ♥ Boobies cases Document, document, document Ban disruption, regardless of viewpoint  “Free time” issues

Sexting

How Common is Sexting?  Teens who sext photos are 4-7x more likely to “hook up”  Teens that sext: 77% have sex  Teens that don’t: 42% have sex

How Common is Sexting?

June 2014 survey by Drexel University 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0

all teens 12-14 y/o

Kids say the darndest things  “Shrek is love, Shrek is life” 8

Oral Sex

143

I Love You

cu46

See You For Sex

GNOC

Get Naked On Cam

S2R

Send To Receive

NIFOC

Naked In Front Of Computer

RU18

Are You 18?

CD9 / Code 9

Parent / Adult around

Kik Messenger

Kik Messenger  Incident at local Catholic grade school • Set up a meeting place with student • Parent luckily intercepted the student

 “Catfish” from Texas

State v. Gallegos • 16-year-old girl met “17-year-old” guy on Kik • Talked, became friends • Asked her for pictures • She sexted him • He said he’d share those photos unless she met him

Snapchat

Snapchat

Snapchat

In re Juvenile John Does (Fairfax Co. Va. 2013)

   

Girls Snapchatted video to boy He forwarded screenshots to friends Three boys arrested at school Each charged with 12 counts of distribution of child pornography  Found guilty, registered sex offenders, appealing sentences  THIS JUST HAPPENED IN NE

Wisconsin v. Stancl  High school student posed as a girl, tricked male classmates into sending nude photos  Then blackmailed boys into sex acts • Thirty-one victims • Then took photos of the physical encounters

Pending Michigan Case     

30 students maybe charged Boys blackmailing female classmates Boys traded pictures Police are doing forensic testing Soliciting, Creation, Distributing, and Possessing charges possible  All under 16, but may be charged as adults

Florida v. Alpert  Girlfriend sent pics  He forwarded pic to all contacts  Convicted of distribution of child pornography  On sex offender registry until he’s 43

Serious Consequences: Hope Witsell and Jessica Logan

Nebraska Law  NEB. REV. STAT. 28-813 et seq.  Makes sexting (images) a class IV felony for offenders under 19  Class IIIA felony for 19 and up  Both punishable by: • Up to 5 years in prison and/or • $10,000 fine • Require sex offender registration

Nebraska Law  Affirmative Defense: •

the picture is only of the defendant; or

• • • • • • •

defendant was younger than 19 picture is of someone at least 15 picture was taken voluntarily picture was given voluntarily picture contains only one child defendant hasn’t shared the picture AND defendant didn’t coerce taking or sending

Employees behaving badly

Pickering v. Bd of Ed. (US 1968)

 Teacher wrote letter to the editor, criticizing the BOE’s allocation of funds between academics and athletics.  BOE terminated the teacher, saying that the letter contained false statements that impugned the integrity of the school system.  The teacher sued, claiming BOE violated First Amendment right to free expression

Pickering v. Bd of Ed. (US 1968)

 Court: public schools cannot terminate a teacher for speaking out as a citizen on matters of public concern  Garcetti: if employees are engaged in speech “pursuant to their official duties” at work, they are not speaking as “citizens” and thus, enjoy no First Amendment protection for their speech

Munroe v. Central Bucks SD  Teacher blog: “Where are we going, and why are we in this handbasket?”

• Called S’s “dunderheads” and “whiny, simpering gradegrubbers” • Parents were “breeding a disgusting brood of insolent, unappreciative, selfish brats”

Munroe v. Central Bucks SD  Court: applied Pickering • Disrupted effectiveness and trust • Some posts touched on “matters of public concern” • As a whole, it was “just rants” • District’s interest in smooth operation outweighed Munroe’s 1st Amendment rights

Hail to the Bus Driver

National Teacher Cases • Probationary band teacher: “If you don’t like it. Kiss my brass. LMAO.” • Teacher: admin was “a smug know-itall creep” w/ “a reputation of crapping on secretaries” • “Don’t smoke crack while preg.”

• “You’re a retard, but I love you.”

Beware of Selfies • T allowed students to use her cell • Ss found nude selfies, created FB page, and posted pics

DIGITAL CITIZENSHIP Bobby Truhe Harding & Shultz (402) 434-3000 btruhe@hslegalfirm.com H & S School Law @btruhe