Schools have never been more reliant on the internet than they are today.  The COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 forced South Dakota schools to incorporate distance learning and other internet-based teaching modules into their everyday curriculum.  Though the internet brings numerous benefits to school staff and students, it also comes at a cost.  That cost is student safety.  South Dakota students are not immune to the threats the cyber world can pose.  South Dakota minors have been victimized by on-line sexual predators, as well as other cyber-criminals who utilize the internet to extort students for sexually explicit images and other criminal enterprises. Reports of cyberbullying have also increased in recent years.  Incidents of cyberbullying can lead to decreased academic achievement, anxiety, depression, and even suicide.

Internet Safety for Teens and Parents Presentations

The South Dakota School Safety Center provides training for school staff, students, and parents.  Call the School Safety Center at 605-773-3450, or email South Dakota School Safety Program Director Brett Garland at brett.garland@state.sd.us for more information or to arrange for a presentation.

Resources

To further assist school staff, students, and families, cyber training and education should be a priority.  The South Dakota School Safety Center recommends the following resources:

• NetSmartz® Worskhop National Center for Missing and Exploited Children® [NCMEC]) provides resources for parents and guardians, educators, and law enforcement with the goal of educating, engaging, and empowering children to recognize potential Internet threats, talk to adults about risks, prevent themselves from being exploited, and report victimization to adults. Separate Websites and resources are available for kids, tweens, and teens.
• Stop.Think.Connect. Campaign (U.S. Department of Homeland Security) is a national awareness campaign that provides resources such as videos, a toolkit, and blogs to help raise the awareness of cyber threats and how to be safer online.
  (Readiness and Emergency Management for Schools Technical Assistance Center: Cyber Safety for Schools Fact Sheet).
• Incident Response Tools Website This website was funded through a grant by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Program, Office of Justice Programs, and the U.S. Department of Justice. This website’s Readiness and Response Center is dedicated to helping you prepare for technology-related incidents in your school, respond quickly and appropriately when they happen, and create a safer technology environment for your students.
• Readiness and Emergency Management for Schools (REMS) Technical Assistance Center (TAC) Resources from the REMS TA Center, U.S. Department of Education, and federal agency partners on the topic of addressing adversarial- and human-caused threats within K-12 schools and IHEs. The hazard types are organized alphabetically, along with the resources associated with each hazard.