School Climate & Safety News in Brief

Harasssment Charges Filed in Cyberbullying Suicide

By McClatchy-Tribune — October 29, 2013 1 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

Felony charges were filed last week against two girls in Florida accused of harassing a classmate so much that she jumped to her death.

Authorities in Polk County arrested 12- and 14-year-old girls before the investigation was completed, after the older girl continued to post abusive messages about the victim on a social-media site.

Rebecca Ann Sedwick, 12, had been targeted for about 10 months by the girls, who told her that she was “ugly” and “should go kill herself” on numerous occasions online, according to arrest records. Rebecca jumped off a silo at an abandoned cement plant last month.

Related Tags:

A version of this article appeared in the October 30, 2013 edition of Education Week as Harasssment Charges Filed in Cyberbullying Suicide

Events

This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Artificial Intelligence Webinar
Managing AI in Schools: Practical Strategies for Districts
How should districts govern AI in schools? Learn practical strategies for policies, safety, transparency, as well as responsible adoption.
Content provided by Lightspeed Systems
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Reading & Literacy Webinar
Unlocking Success for Struggling Adolescent Readers
The Science of Reading transformed K-3 literacy. Now it's time to extend that focus to students in grades 6 through 12.
Content provided by STARI
Jobs Virtual Career Fair for Teachers and K-12 Staff
Find teaching jobs and K-12 education jubs at the EdWeek Top School Jobs virtual career fair.

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

School Climate & Safety School Shootings in 2025: The Fewest Incidents and Deaths in 5 Years
The overall number of U.S. school shootings was lower than in any year since 2020.
2 min read
A mother holds her children at the memorial outside Annunciation Catholic Church after Wednesday's shooting, Sunday, Aug. 31, 2025, in Minneapolis.
A mother holds her children at a memorial outside Annunciation Catholic Church following the Aug. 27 shooting at the Minneapolis Catholic school. The shooting, in which two children died and 21 people were injured, was the largest school shooting of 2025, a year during which there were fewer school shootings than in any year since 2020.
Ellen Schmidt/AP
School Climate & Safety Opinion Handcuffed for Eating Doritos: Schools Shouldn’t Be Test Sites for AI ‘Security’
A teen was detained at gunpoint after an error by his school’s security tool. Consider it a warning.
J.B. Branch
4 min read
Crowd of people with a mosaic digitized effect being surveilled by AI systems.
Peter Howell/iStock
School Climate & Safety Opinion Behavioral Threat Assessment: A Guide for Educators and Leaders (Downloadable)
Two specialists explain the best course to prevent school violence.
Jillian Haring & Jameson Ritter
1 min read
Shadow on the wall of girl wearing backpack walking to school
iStock/Getty
School Climate & Safety New York City Is the Latest to Deploy Panic Buttons in Schools
The nation's largest district is the latest to adopt emergency alert technology.
4 min read
A faculty member at Findley Oaks Elementary School holds a Centegix crisis alert badge during a training on Monday, March 20, 2023. The Fulton County School District is joining a growing list of metro Atlanta school systems that are contracting with the company, which equips any employee with the ability to notify officials in the case of an emergency.
A faculty member at Findley Oaks Elementary School holds a Centegix crisis alert badge during a training on Monday, March 20, 2023. Emergency alert systems have spread quickly to schools around the country as a safety measure. The nation's largest district is the latest to adopt one.
Natrice Miller/AJC.com via TNS