Making cyberspace safer.

Cyberspace can be dangerous for kids. Take 14-year-old Kelligh Prince who was solicited via an instant message from a sexual predator. Prince relied on instinct and later blocked the stranger's e-mail address.

Both online sexual predation and cyber-bullying are on the rise. Approximately 20 percent of kids under 18 received a sexual solicitation over the Internet in 2004, according to the U.S. Dept. of Justice's Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. One in four girls and one in six boys have admitted to meeting Internet strangers in person, with 60 percent of teen girls admitting to cyber-sex, says Parry ARab, executive director of wiredsafety.org.

Recent polls indicate that 75 percent to 80 percent of 12 to 14 year olds have been cyber-bullied. Cyber-bullying begins at age nine and morphs into sexual harassment by high school, says Aftab.

Schools need to tackle the problem to keep kids safe and head off potential lawsuits. "Many schools are unprepared for cyber-bullying," says Carolyn Walpole, director of education for i-SAFE.org.

And it opens a new field for lawsuits, says Walpole. Parents, students and civil liberty organizations argue that districts that punish kids for criticizing teachers or students in cyberspace violate kids' freedom of speech. They also maintain schools lack authority over off campus online activities.

The lynchpin of a good cyber safety plan is the acceptable use policy. "The policy should expressly indicate the district's jurisdiction over items outside of school [such as laptops and cell phones] and the rationale for the action," says Aftab.

"The acceptable use policy should spell out guidelines and consequences of using school equipment--including networks--to bully," adds Walpole.