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The New Jersey district where bullied 14-year-old Adriana Kuch took her own life will now allow school officials to look through students’ cellphones in an effort to curb bullying.

The Central Regional School District in Ocean County will require middle school students to keep their phones in special pockets during class, while high schoolers will also have the option to keep them switched off and put away. The updated electronics policy went into effect in August and applies to students in grades 7 through 12, NJ.com reported.

The change in rules comes after 14-year-old Adriana died by suicide after a video was posted online of a group of girls cruelly bullying and physically attacking her. Adriana, who attended Central Regional High School in Berkeley Township, was found dead at home two days after the horrific Feb. 1 assault.

An alarming video of the bullying showed several students attacking the teen, hitting her with a water bottle as she walked with her boyfriend down a school hallway. Adriana’s assailants punched her, kicked her and pulled her hair, while others looked on and laughed.

Officials at the school 14-year-old Adriana Kuch attended will now be allowed to search students’ cellphones.  Adriana’s humiliating beating and the online circulation of a video of the attack led to her taking her own life, her father said, calling her suicide a direct result of repeated harassment. His claims have prompted a firestorm of accusations that the school district has a culture of bullying.

At least three lawsuits have been filed against the school district over claims that officials failed to investigate on-campus harassment and bullying of students. Three girls have been charged with third-degree felony assault and a fourth was charged with disorderly conduct in connection with the assault on Adriana.

If you are struggling with suicidal thoughts or are experiencing a mental health crisis and live in New York City, you can call 1-888-NYC-WELL for free and confidential crisis counseling. If you live outside the five boroughs, you can dial the 24/7 National Suicide Prevention hotline at 988 or go to SuicidePreventionLifeline.org.

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Gov. Gavin Newsom of California vetoed a bill on Friday that would instruct judges presiding over custody battles in the state to take into consideration a parent’s support for a child’s gender identity when making custody and visitation decisions.
Why It Matters: The veto signals a break from the governor’s stance in support of transgender rights.

In a letter accompanying his veto on Friday, Mr. Newsom, a Democrat, said that while he he shares “a deep commitment” to advancing transgender rights, he urged caution about making legal standards “in prescriptive terms that single out one characteristic.”

“Other-minded elected officials, in California and other states, could very well use this strategy to diminish the civil rights of vulnerable communities,” he said.

The governor added that under existing state law, the court is required to consider a child’s health, safety and welfare in these proceedings, which he said already includes the parent’s affirmation of the child’s gender identity.

Mr. Newsom did not elaborate on his stance. But Scott Altman, a law professor at the University of Southern California who specializes in family law, said that the veto might have stemmed from a concern that courts might overemphasize this one facet of parental love, or could lead courts to discriminate against parents whose religions adhere to traditional gender roles, or that allowing this explicit reference to affirming gender identity might provoke more opposition to L.G.B.T.Q. rights in other states.

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WARNING.🚨 We must discuss IT. September is National Suicide Prevention Month. Attorney LIONEL from Lionel Media🎙️ joins #LynnsWarriors💙with Lynn Shaw on TNT Radio to dissect and critically analyze why so many people, including children consider or commit suicide now in the United States.  Join us. We need to have open and honest communication #Resources #Takeaways #BeAWarrior

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Hundreds of bereaved family members turned out in pouring rain and marched on the White House on Saturday, demanding action in the name of loved ones who died from fentanyl.

The forecast called for thundershowers, but rallygoers said they were the ones bringing the storm when they gathered on the National Mall for the third annual Lost Voices of Fentanyl event.

Tears mingled with rain as people lined up banners displaying the faces and “forever” ages of those who died. From the stage, speakers called for more public awareness and changes in government policies to address a crisis responsible for tens of thousands of American deaths each year.

The group formed into a column midafternoon and marched up the street to the fence in front of the White House, waving signs and chanting anti-fentanyl slogans.

Jeri Horton of Plano made the trip to act as a voice for her 23-year-old daughter Jessie Williams, who died of fentanyl two years ago.

“They want their voices to be heard and they want their children’s lives to matter,” Horton said as she surveyed the crowd in front of the White House. “They don’t want their death to be in vain. They want something done.”

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Contacts at Apple reached out to let us know about major improvements to their nudity blurring feature that the National Center on Sexual Exploitation has been asking for and advising Apple about since the feature was originally announced nearly two years ago. Beginning September 18, 2023, with the iOS17 update,  images and videos containing nudity will be automatically blurred for kids 12 and under in iMessage, FaceTime, Air Drop, and Photos picker—a feature that previously had to be turned on by parents, was unavailable to anyone over 13, only detected still images, and only worked in iMessage. This tool will also be available for teens and adults as an opt-in feature. Additionally, Apple has already made their blurring technology available to other apps for free through API (application programming interface)! What this means is that apps accessed through iOS could apply the nudity blurring feature to their platform. You can read our press release on Apple’s changes for more details!

*While not a focus of the DDL, NCOSE is deeply concerned and disappointed that Apple does not scan for child sex abuse material (CSAM). We’ve been pressing on Apple for years to do so, most recently together with a coalition of child safety experts.

With almost 90% of US teens owning an iPhone, Apple can rightly be called a primary “gatekeeper” to what America’s children are accessing online…as well as who is accessing them. Caregivers trust and rely on Apple’s App Store age ratings and descriptions to determine what apps are safe and appropriate for their children to use. App age ratings also “trigger” several aspects of Apple’s parental controls (called Screen Time), blocking entire apps or content based on the designated age.

Yet at a time when child safety experts and mental health professionals – including the United States Surgeon General – are sounding the alarm that our kids are in crisis due in large part to social media, Apple’s app descriptions remain vague, hidden, and inconsistent: further jeopardizing our already-at-risk children.

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Jason Lance thought Jan. 21, 2010, was a day like any other until the call came.

He had dropped off his 9-year-old son, Montana, at Stewart’s Creek Elementary School in The Colony, Texas, that morning.

“There were no problems at home. He was smart. He wore his heart on his sleeve and he talked and talked and talked,” said Lance. It was “the same old, same old normal day. There were kisses and goodbyes and he said, ‘I love you, Daddy.'”

A few hours later, school officials called to say Montana had died by suicide while locked in the nurse’s bathroom.

“I knew he had some issues going on in school, but I never seen it coming,” said Lance. His shock and grief were complicated by the realization that there may have been more signs his son was struggling.

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Thanks to a 2021 law, certain charges will be cleared from the records of trafficking survivors if they prove the crime was committed due to trafficking.

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Come to Washington, DC and be part of history. Let’s educate Congress and make them the 118th Congress for Child Safety!