The increased opportunities in virtual schooling offer new opportunities for students but also present new challenges for educators. As virtual enrollment has grown, concerns about student engagement, academic preparedness, and social risks have also grown. Among these concerns is the potential for bullying in online educational settings. While traditional bullying research has been well-documented, studies focusing on bullying within virtual schools remain limited. This study examines teachers’ perceptions of bullying in online schools through a self-reported survey. A total sample of 97 educators from a virtual school was sampled, of which 91% were female. Findings indicate that while physical bullying is rare in the virtual setting, verbal, relational, and cyberbullying are reported by educators. Physical appearance, either body or clothing, was the most reported reason across all types of bullying. Educators reported feeling moderately prepared to identify and respond to these bullying behaviors, but gaps in training and awareness still exist. The study highlights the need for professional development, enhanced digital monitoring, and proactive bullying strategies to fit the virtual learning environment.

Marginalized groups, particularly those from lower socio-economic backgrounds, face higher mental health risks, such as stress and anxiety. However, research on college students' attitudes toward mental health interventions is limited. Barriers to accessing mental health services include inconvenient locations, limited hours, lack of time, and insufficient awareness of available resources. Factors like accessibility, availability, affordability, and acceptability impede students from seeking care. Mobile-based mental health applications (MHAs) offer a potential solution but research on college students' attitudes toward these apps is scarce. This study used a web-based questionnaire to explore students' openness to MHAs and found that they are generally unfamiliar with them but are open to using them. The findings suggest that raising awareness of MHAs and providing accessible, affordable, and acceptable options are crucial. Future research should identify what motivates students to download and consistently use MHAs and explore how colleges can better implement these applications across campuses.

Bullying poses ongoing challenges to student safety and well-being in schools, yet many instruments, such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Youth Risk Behavior Survey, do not address bystander behavior. This study examined how 3,717 middle and high school students in 14 schools in the western United States respond when witnessing bullying and what factors influence their responses. Findings suggest that friendship with the target significantly increased both defending behaviors and the likelihood that bullying stopped or decreased. Gender influenced responses, with female students more likely to report and male students more likely to fight back. Racial alignment between bystander and target predicted higher reporting rates and intervention success, raising concerns about in-group favoritism. Physical bullying prompted more intervention than verbal and relational bullying, though verbal bullying was more prevalent. Findings underscore the need for culturally responsive, relationship-focused interventions to strengthen bystander engagement across contexts.

Background: In 2024, the Supreme Court ruled in the City of Grants Pass vs Johnson that local towns and municipalities may ban people from sleeping in public places, overturning a lower-court precedent that previously deemed this cruel and unusual punishment. Purpose: This position paper sought to identify effective interventions for addressing homelessness and emphasize the implications of legislature on sleep and public health outcomes. Methods: As this is a policy position paper, the opinions listed in this report have been informed by existing evidence. We provide policy recommendations for research-supported approaches addressing homelessness. Results: Successful interventions for homelessness included those that focused on providing support and increasing resources, such as the development of Safe Sleeping Zones in California, or providing individuals with housing subsidies, income assistance, or support in finding rentals. Conclusion: We provide the following policy recommendations for legislators: increased federal funding/incentives for unsheltered homelessness programs, a greater allocation of the federal budget attributed to supportive services, and increased legislation for homelessness prevention. We suggest a shift in focus on implementing more empowerment and supportive-based approaches as opposed to punitive approaches. Investing in homelessness prevention efforts has yielded long-term societal-level financial and economic benefits.