Bullying Prevention
Senate Bill 179, commonly known as “David’s Law,” makes it a Class A misdemeanor and allows a temporary injunction against social media accounts used to electronically harass or cyberbully someone under age 18 through text message, social media, websites, or other means with the intent of causing them to commit suicide or harm themselves.
Authored by Texas state Senators José Menéndez and Judith Zaffirini the bill requires school districts to include cyberbullying in their district bullying policies, notify parents by the next day if their child has been bullied, and notify the parents of the alleged aggressor within a reasonable amount of time. Also, schools have the authority to investigate cyberbullying and to work with law enforcement on such investigations.
If a student believes they are a victim of cyberbullying or if a teacher, community member, parent, administrator, or other school personnel know about an incident of cyberbullying, they can report it using the District’s Tarpon Tip Line incident reporting system. Anonymous alerts satisfies the law’s requirement to have a system that allows for anonymous reporting and provides immunity to those who file a report.