Teen girls have harassed 17-year-old Abigail Riggins over the Internet several times.

Officials at her Berks County school told her mother, Connie, they couldn't do anything about it because the incidents did not take place during school hours.

"I didn't feel it was right because it was spilling over into the school day," Mrs. Riggins said.

It also spilled over to the teenager's work at a store in Caernarvon Township in Lancaster County. The girls showed up there and told the person driving their car to run Abigail over in the parking lot. State Police at Ephrata cited the girls for disorderly conduct.

Abigail's story is one that is growing more common, and policy makers are noticing the trend.

For the first time, the state is requiring that every school district have a bullying policy in place.

The policies must be in place by Thursday.

"Having a formal policy on bullying that clearly outlines prevention and intervention efforts helps foster a safe, supportive culture in our schools," Mike Race, state Department of Education spokesman, said.

Bullying has already been a serious problem in schools, but cyberbullying, which officials say is much more insidious and hard to prove, has become an issue around the world.

Police and school officials say a policy will not solve it, but it's a "step in the right direction."

Elizabethtown Police Cpl. Gordon Berlin works with schools to educate students on the gravity of bullying.

"Cyberbullying is much more pervasive," Berlin said. "With traditional, once someone leaves the playground and school and gets home, it stops; there is a safe haven. But a lot of kids go home and jump online, and the bullying is still there."

Cyberbullying involves rumor spreading, alienation and threats that take place over cell phone text messages and messages on the Internet such as on MySpace and Facebook, social networking Web sites.

Under the state guidelines, school districts must post bullying policies on their Web sites and in school buildings.

Prior to passage of the law, the School District of Lancaster did not have such a policy in place.

Now it does.

Lancaster School Board President Patrick Snyder thinks it's a good idea.

"We need to make sure students understand the ramifications of bullying on all levels, and that we protect all students to the best of our ability," he said.

Schools must educate students on what sort of punishment to expect if they bully and when they could expect to find themselves in trouble with police if they engage in it.

The policies also state that schools must educate students on bullying to prevent it.

The policies must also state that schools can become involved when bullying that occurs over a weekend causes disruptions in the school day.

This has been difficult for school officials because often students show up at school upset over nasty messages posted online over the weekend.

But in reality, the line is still fuzzy concerning when school districts are the enforcers and when police are.

"I am not sure it will close the gap as much as the public and or lawmakers may have hoped for," Cocalico Superintendent Bruce Sensenig said. "It certainly does help define the jurisdiction."

Hempfield High School's Resource Officer Jeremy Henry said the ultimate enforcers have to be parents.

They need to know what their children are doing and seeing on the Internet.

And, it's hard for school officials and police to prove definitely who the perpetrators are because of the anonymity of the Internet, he said.

But change can happen. Henry believes in it.

Hempfield High has been proactive, he said, in its efforts to educate students.

The number of reported incidents are rising.

While that sounds as if it were a bad thing, it's not, he said.

The number of arrests are down, and reporting problems helps officials diffuse situations before they worsen.

It's an ever-transforming world.

Young people also have cell phones, which can give them access to the Internet and text messaging.

They do not need to wait for class to be over.

Henry shares this story:

In the not-so-distant past, a teacher took a cell phone away from a student who was sending text messages in class.

The principal was handed the cell phone, and then text messages starting showing up on its screen.

The principal discovered unexpectedly that these messages were threats from another student.

"If cell phones are not enough of a distraction, then there you go," he said.


Staff writer Robyn Meadows can be reached at rmeadows@LNPnews.com or 481-6025.