The Bibb County School system is giving people another way to
report incidents of bullying. For the targets, parents and
bystanders it’s now as easy as sending a text. Bibb County’s
telephone hotline started in August. It allows people to phone
in anonymous tips about bullies. The hotline gets as many as ten
calls a week. Bibb County’s lead psychologist Steve Corkery
monitors the hotline and now the text messages. He says people
are asked to leave the name of the school, the bully and the
target. “It used to be bullying happened from nine to three. You
know when you got to school you’d get bullied, but by three
o’clock you’d be free of it. But, now with facebook and kids
having phones, it’s 24 hours a day.” Corkery says parents should
monitor their kid’s phones and use of social media. In 2010
lawmakers passed a bill requiring all school systems to develop
an anti-bullying policy.