Several students recently called the Colorado Springs-based Safe2Tell hotline, setting into motion a cyberbullying headache the likes of which are becoming all too common for school administrators.

The callers were upset about a posting on Instagram, a social media website that showed photos of several students from a Jefferson County high school accompanied by derogatory comments that included slurs about sexual orientation.

The calls, as are all made to Safe2Tell, were answered by Colorado State Patrol dispatchers. The incident, which could have been construed as a hate crime, generated an Arvada Police Department investigation. The site agreed to take the post down. And in late January, police issued a summons to a 15-year-old student on five counts of third-degree harassment. He was released to his parents. The district’s disciplinary office may take action; the investigation is ongoing.

The school district found itself in the middle of this cyberbullying crisis despite precautions and a newly amended state law that includes cyberbullying.

While online and social media bullying often occurs at home or on mobile devices outside school, the resulting problems usually spill onto campuses.

“We take cyberbullying very seriously,” said Melissa Reeves, Jefferson County School District R-1 spokeswoman. She noted that cyberbullying is part of the student conduct codebook.

“Every year, families have to read and acknowledge it.”

The calls about the incident to the hotline give her hope that an anti-bullying mindset is sinking in. When students saw the posts about their classmates, they were angry. “We are encouraged because more than 85 of 87 messages posted on the (Instagram) site about the incident condemned it.”

The district combats such bad behavior through conversations between school staff and students about the proper use of technology.

“I don’t think kids know how much trouble they can get in,” Reeves said.

The consequences of bullying include community service, suspension, expulsion and criminal charges of harassment — even juvenile detention or jail time.

The Jeffco bullying comments had been posted under a user name Ananymous (sic).

Arvada police noted that while people may believe they are anonymous, they can be tracked online.

Online bullying increasing

Since the 1999 Columbine High School shooting tragedy, Colorado has addressed schoolyard bullying by emphasizing reporting, education and discipline.

But cyberbullying is a new twist as more and more students armed with computers and cellphones let fly virtual fisticuffs.

“We deal with this virtually every day,” said Larry Borland, chief of security for Academy School District 20. “And talking with my colleagues across the country, there seems to be a lot more bullying on cyberspace than face to face.”

“Every kid is connected,” he said. “It’s easier, more anonymous and often no immediate consequences.” The Pew Research Center’s Internet and American Life Survey in 2011 found:

• 88 percent of kids have witnessed others being cruel on sites.

• 33 percent have been victims.

• 13 percent were nervous about going to school because of an

incident.

• 6 percent of kids said they got in trouble at school for such

incidents.

At the same time, only 7 percent of parents were found to be worried about cyberbullying.

More and more, it is becoming the schools’ responsibility to help eradicate it, administrators say. Two years ago, more than 18 percent of high school officials nationally reported they deal with cyberbullying at least once a week.

As a result, school districts find themselves in a sort of no-man’s land where they are damned if they do or don’t. They have been sued for exceeding authority and violating students’ free speech rights. On the other hand, parents have sued districts for not protecting their children.

Last year, the state’s bullying law was amended to address cyberbullying. The definition says bullying is “any written or verbal expression or physical or electronic act or gesture intended to coerce, intimidate or cause any physical or mental or emotional harm to any student.” It can be considered a felony or misdemeanor under the state’s harassment statute, which can result in jail or juvenile detention time.

The law requires schools to update district bullying policies, and it creates a grant program for anti-bullying programs.

Problems don’t go away

District officials note that the well-being of students can be at stake and thus their ability to learn. Arguments can spill into the school and classroom. Making amends doesn’t necessarily solve the problem because online confrontations can be more devastating than actual fights. Anonymity and distance can make online or text comments seem less personal for the bully and more personal — and vicious — for the person targeted. Teens who are cyberbullied have reported feeling more alone in their plight.

And the comments are out there forever.

“Kids share it with another 50 friends, and each of them shares it with 50 more. It goes viral,” said Susan Payne, Safe2Tell executive director and a sworn law officer through the Colorado State Attorney General’s Office. “The faster districts or parents can report problems, the faster law enforcement can control the social spread by getting it off the network and at the same time get victims in a support system that says, ‘We aren’t believing this stuff. It’s mean.’ ”

Where the cyberbullying starts often doesn’t much matter, said Mike Russell, interim student services director at Harrison School District 2. That’s because it usually spills onto campus. He points to this typical scenario: Friends have a disagreement off campus. They text each other, call names, tell their friends on social media in messages that aren’t at all nice. Back at school, the argument escalates, creating a distraction in the classroom that can lead to fights.

“We have to ask, is this freedom of speech or harassment?” Payne asks.

The test is intent with malice. “We look to see if the person intentionally wanted to cause harm.”

Under bullying laws, there also is a responsibility to follow up if there is a hate crime involved, such as sexual orientation or race.

But schools say that malice and intent can be hard to decipher, particularly with immature kids who act before they consider the harm they are causing.

Michael Doub, D-20 director of information technology education services, notes, “There is a lot of drama, particularly in middle school where kids are best friends one day and not the next. They say things in anger and then are friends again.

“For us, the litmus test is how far into the educational environment does it intrude? Of course, if they report that they have been threatened even off campus, the school will notify parents,” he said.

Because there are so many variables, districts sometimes underreact or overreact.

“The problem schools have is that the line is fuzzy, not sharp,” said Borland, of Academy D-20.

The district has an agreement on proper usage of the Internet that parents and students are supposed to read. But even so, he notes, “We have a lot more control of our school network. It gets harder when the computer being used is at home.”

Emphasis on kindness

Colorado Springs School

District 11 has an “acceptable use” clause that governs school equipment. School policy is expansive, defining the school environment as: “any non-district property or location where the behavior has a direct impact on school discipline or is detrimental to welfare and safety of students and staff.”

“If the harassment impinges on a student’s ability to perform at school, we try to work with parents and law enforcement to regulate behavior,” said Greg Ecks, D-11 student discipline director.

Serious cyberbullying cases are referred to law enforcement, but districts handle most cases.

Widefield School District 3 has instituted an anti-bullying campaign, including anti-bullying programs in K-12 based on Rachel’s Challenge. The worldwide program was created in memory of Rachel Scott, a compassionate 17-year-old who was the first victim of the Columbine shootings.

The schools strongly emphasize kindness and compassion rather than dwelling on the negative.

Of course, that doesn’t curtail cyberbullying. Shane Skall, Widefield High School assistant principal, said that they use a variety of disciplinary actions including peer mediation, counseling, suspension and reporting to law enforcement.

“We try to be proactive. Where there is conflict, we address it so it doesn’t blow up and kids carry that anger home and vent online.”

One very effective deterrent is peer mediation, in which scores of student mediators oversee discussions of teen problems, including those between bullies and the

bullied.

“The idea is that we are creating a more positive climate where kids will recognize when they or others are causing harm,” Skall said.