The fight to fend off the cyberbullies

ROUND ROCK, Texas (KXAN) - Here is a statistic that should get your attention: One of every two teens will be the victim of cyberbullying.

Central Texas has seen several cases just this summer. Concerned students pointed KXAN Austin News to The Panther Book, named after Pflugerville High School' s mascot. It was hardly full of school spirit and has since been removed. The cleanest comments on the anonymous Facebook page -- labeled 55 girls fat, slutty and alocholic.

"The school has their hands tied, it's not happening during the school year, they don't have any way to show that right now it's interfering with the educational process," said Barbara-Jane Paris, principal of Canyon Vista Middle School in Round Rock.

She has been educating schools on the issue across the U.S. after first facing the problem four years ago as a high school principal in East Texas. A student told her another student was suicidal after being bashed on a website.

"She showed me exactly what had been said, and my heart just broke for this girl," said Paris. "I didn't have time to say, 'It's not my problem, it didn't happen on school grounds,' because I had a child's safety and welfare at risk."

Paris got State Rep. Mark Strama on board who had seen the effects in his hometown near Houston.

"Overnight Facebook pages have sprung up just targeting one particular student. Suddenly 200 kids are piling into that Facebook page putting up nasty comments about that student," said Strama, D-Austin.

A tougher law, giving schools more authority over off campus behavior, died last Legislative session after running out of time.

"We can't at the state level solve this problem. All we can do is give local school officials and classroom teachers the power to solve the problem in their own classroom," said Strama.

He will give the bill another go this session, which also gives schools the right to move the bully out of the classroom instead of the victim.

A national bully watchdog group  graded current Texas law a C-.

"In the end you have to do what's right for kids. If the law can't make its mind up, which it can't right now, in any state or at the federal level, then at the time you have to do what's right for children," said Paris. "Kids don't have a choice to come to school. It's the law. So if we require them to be here, then I think we have an obligation to keep them safe."

According to the Cyberbullying Research Center, a child may be the victim of cyberbullying if he or she:

• Unexpectedly stops using the computer
• Appears nervous or jumpy when an Instant Message, text message, or e-mail appears
• Appears uneasy about going to school or outside in general
• Appears to be angry, depressed, or frustrated after using the computer
• Avoids discussions about what they are doing on the computer
• Becomes abnormally withdrawn from usual friends and family members

A child may be cyberbullying others if he or she:

• Quickly switches screens or closes programs when you walk by
• Uses the computer at all hours of the night
• Gets unusually upset if he/she cannot use the computer
• Laughs excessively while using the computer
• Avoids discussions about what they are doing on the computer
• Uses multiple online accounts or using an account that is not their own