Soon the very devices used to commit cyberbullying may be the ones to stop it. New apps such as STOPit and Bridg-iT aim to diminish the number of bully victims all over the country.
STOPit, which was rolled out in January 2014, comes preloaded with tools to anonymously report harassment to school officials, help friends in need, access 24/7 helplines or alert local law enforcement of potentially dangerous situations. The app is used in at least 13 states including our neighboring state NJ, where several schools have adopted the app into an anti-bully program.
In Brooklyn NY, I.S. 228 uses Bridg-iT to try and bully-proof the school by allowing students to anonymously report the bullying or harmful behavior. With the app, each student, parent, teacher, and administrator has a unique logon. As soon as someone reports an incident — which they can do through the computer or even their smart phone — administrators receive an alert via email.
We think these apps are terrific, certainly great tools to help assist students and school administrators put a stop to bullying. Unfortunately these apps are still very new and are not rolled out in most schools yet. This may change in the future, but even if it does there may be times when bullying still takes place.
We encourage parents to contact us if their child has suffered serious physical or emotional injuries from bullying. If you contacted the school and the school failed to do anything to stop the bullying or prevent future bullying incidents please call us at 516-217-9097. We are experienced in representing students who have been bullied and suffered severe injuries. No child should feel unsafe in school, and the schools have a duty to protect our children when they are in their care.
Goldstein and Bashner
