Remember in Mean Girls when Cady’s comments in the Burn Book got Ms. Norbury investigated? Well, that may have been a movie, but even in the real world, students harassing teachers is a cause for concern.

A new North Carolina law has been put in place to protect teachers against students who turn to the Internet to bully their teachers.

Basically, it is now against the law there to “intimidate or torment” teachers on the Internet. This could mean making a fake profile for them, but students could also be violating the law even if what they post is true or the pictures of the teacher they put up are real. If it harasses the teacher, then it won’t fly under this new law. The consequences for teens? Potential jail time and a big fine. Yeah, this is serious stuff.

Back when I was in high school, I admit that I would sometimes complain about assignments on Facebook (“Ughhh, why do we have an 8 page term paper due tomorrow?!“). Still, it always made me uncomfortable when I’d see others target the teacher personally.

While people would censor themselves when it came to talking about other students since they could potentially see the posts, because teachers didn’t have access to our Facebook profiles, I think to a lot of people it seemed more “fair game.” Yeah, sometimes it was a “joke” but these comments left me feeling weird rather than wanting to laugh.

One of the arguments against this North Carolina law is that it somehow violates your First Amendment rights, but I don’t feel totally on board with that. Let me say the First Amendment is super important – it gives you the right to voice your opinion! I guess I just feel really conflicted when that awesome power to say what you think becomes a way to tear down another person.

If you really do have an issue with a teacher, I think you most definitely should exercise your First Amendment rights. Teachers often give you feedback on your work (both positive and negative) which makes you a better student, and your feedback can also help make them a better teacher. Voice how you feel by scheduling a meeting with them or the administration or talk it out with your parents. But blasting your teacher on Facebook to your friends? It’s not a controlled way of dealing with an issue. It could mess things up for you, but also your teacher.

People do really take what students say about their teachers seriously because they don’t want to risk any chance that students are somehow in danger. If you’re impersonating a teacher or just throwing around hurtful terms or allegations about your teachers with no basis, that can have major professional consequences for them.

You won’t love every teacher you have (I certainly didn’t), but whether there’s a law in place or not, harassing teachers online isn’t the way to go.

What do you think about this law in North Carolina? Do you feel like it limits your freedom of speech? Have you ever complained about a teacher online? Have any of your friends ever gotten in trouble for harassing a teacher on the Internet? Tell us in the comments!

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