NEW YORK (1010 WINS/WCBS 880) – A New Jersey school district has ruled that it will allow officials to look through students’ phones following the suicide of a 14-year-old girl who was bullied last year.
The Central Regional School District in Ocean County requires middle school students to store their phones in special pouch-like pockets during class. For high school students, they will have the option to turn off their phones and put them away.
The new electronics policy went into effect in August, NJ.com reported.
The policy comes after 14-year-old Adriana Kuch, a student at Central Regional High School, killed herself in February after a video of her being bullied and beaten by a group of girls was posted online.
Kuch was found dead two days after the assault.
The video showed multiple students violently attacking Kuch and hitting her as she was walking down the hallway.
After the loss of Kuch, her father pointed to the school, alleging that it had not adequately addressed bullying concerns.
The school district faced three lawsuits for allegedly neglecting harassment and bullying.
Four of Kuch’s classmates were charged in connection with the attack recorded on video.
Following these claims, additional complaints emerged against the district.
Since then, Central Regional announced a series of initiatives to improve the district’s approach to bullying which seems to includ the school’s electronic policy.
It is not certain whether the new policy is connected directly to the changes Central Regional intended to make following Kuch's tragic suicide, NJ.com reported.
If you or someone you know are in crisis, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 988 or contact the Crisis Text Line by texting TALK to 741741.