KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — During the last legislative session, HB 2590 was signed into law. It adds language about bullying and cyberbullying to the state's existing law about threats and harassment and is aimed at mandating schools take action when some incidents of bullying are reported.
It formally defines bullying as "an act committed by a student that substantially interferes with another student's educational benefits, opportunities, or performance." It also defines cyberbullying as bullying done over electronic means.
This will be the first school year that the law goes into effect, and school leaders will need to navigate it for the first time.
"Sometimes, it's beef between two students. Sometimes, it is bullying," said Jason R. Periard from Knox County Schools, the chief of security for the school district. "Any bullying incident that is serious we will make sure it gets to the right people, and if necessary, be prosecuted."
Knox County Schools announced Monday that it was launching a new app giving students, parents and community members the ability to anonymously report safety threats. Those can include incidents of bullying, and school leaders said the app will be monitored 24 hours per day.
The new law was introduced by Republican Representative Lowell Russell, who said the law also includes language giving different punishments based on a student's age.
"It makes it a delinquent act if the student is 17 or below. If they are 18 and up, that's a class A misdemeanor," he said.
He also said authorities will be required to file a report if victims are minors and will need to tell students' parents about the incident.
"This protects kids (from) in-person bullying and cyberbullying," he said.
Agencies said that bullying is a common cause of young students to reach out for mental health help. The 988 Lifeline said it often receives text messages from kids and teens during school hours, asking for help.
"It could be that someone's bullying them, and they just want to talk about it with someone," said Scott Payne from 988 Lifeline. "Ten to 15-year-olds, we have a lot of texts with them. We have a lot of phone conversations with them."