Student-To-Student Misconduct Rising On Digital Platforms Used For Education
The pandemic has turned the classroom into a virtual experience for millions of kids. While the venue for learning has changed drastically, student-to-student misconduct is still happening.
A report from L1ght, a company that develops AI solutions to protect kids online, found a 70% increase in hate speech between teenagers during online chats between March, when the pandemic started, and mid-September.
And it's not just among teenagers. Research from the Cyberbullying Research Center finds more than 14% of tweens, nine to 12 years old, have experienced cyberbullying.
And cyberbullying isn't the only concern related to virtual learning.
"We are receiving many more complaints involving Google Classroom conduct and different online interactions between students and staff members," said Chicago Public Schools Office of Student Protections Investigator Amber Nesbitt told the Chicago Tribune.
However, in California, CBS13 has learned that there is no one agency tracking or investigating these types of complaints or allegations. The California Department of Education tells CBS13 "CDE does not track this information. Formal complaints regarding educator misconduct are to be submitted in writing to a school, district, or county office of education."
However, when CBS13 reached out to local counties and school districts, we found their policies varied greatly and that no one was tracking, or investigating, concerning teacher-student sexual misconduct trends state-wide.
Wednesday at 10, CBS13 Investigates what schools are doing to protect students from sexual misconduct in the virtual learning world.
