Cyberbullying among kids is an unfortunate reality, something that academics have struggled to define and politicians have occasionally tried to legislate. While some measures in the past may have gone too far by locking down social networking and IM in school, a bill that just passed in the California Senate could give schools power to take action against cyberbullies.

Assembly Bill 86, introduced by Assemblyman Ted Lieu nearly two years ago to enact nutritional reform in schools, has since been transmogrified into a piece of cyberbullying legislation. The bill has been amended four times this year beginning on January 7, gaining a passage that embodies its new purpose: "It is the intent of the Legislature... to develop and implement interagency strategies, in-service training programs, and activities that will improve school attendance and reduce school crime and violence, including vandalism... hate crimes, bullying, including acts bullying committed personally or by means of an electronic act." (Emphasis ours.) The bill would also "Authorize school officials to suspend or recommend for expulsion pupils who engage in bullying, including but not limited to, bullying by means of an electronic act, as defined."

The definition of an electronic act has evolved over recent amendments to now read as "the transmission of a communication, including, but not limited to, a message, text, sound, or image by means of an electronic device, including, but not limited to, a telephone, wireless telephone or other wireless communication device, computer, or pager." With this new clarity, the bill passed the State Senate with a 21-11 vote, and, if the differences with the State Assembly version are reconciled, will go to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's desk.

Previous studies have shown that the definition of what exactly cyberbullying is can sometimes get lost in translation between teachers, victims, parents, and legislators. One study by Pew Internet found one-third of teens claiming to have experienced cyberbullying, while others find numbers all over the board depending on the context and level of threat. Cyberbullying can be relatively harmless and its impact can vary more greatly than with more traditional playground tyrants, as over 80 percent of students in one study said they weren't distressed due to the anonymous identity of their aggressor.

At the other end of the scale, however, one cyberbullying case involved a people masquerading as a young boy on MySpace to bully a 13-year-old girl. The young girl eventually committed suicide and the mother of one of her classmates will stand trial in LA on charges related to the incident; she faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, though the EFF now worries that the exact nature of the charges against the mother could be a threat to free speech.

If enacted, the California legislation would give power to school officials to take action over acts of cyberbullying that they beliee end up going too far. Under current law, schools only have power over bullying acts that happen on school grounds, which means that schools can't do anything about what many consider to be a growing and serious problem.