Instagram strengthens teen safety with School Partnership Programme

Instagram has introduced a new initiative aimed at assisting educators in addressing online bullying and other teen safety issues. The social media platform announced the launch of its School Partnership Programme, allowing middle and high schools in the United States to report potential cyberbullying incidents directly to Instagram for prioritised review.

Developed in collaboration with the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) and the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD), the programme seeks to provide schools with greater influence over online safety concerns affecting students.

“Our nationally representative research involving US middle and high schoolers has identified that only 13% of targeted youth report being cyberbullied to the school. A reason frequently cited is that educators are not in a position to do anything about it. Instagram’s new School Partnership programme changes that,” said Dr Sameer Hinduja, Co-director of the Cyberbullying Research Centre. “This system will now fast-track solutions that students and educators want to see.”

The School Partnership Programme, which has been tested with 60 schools over the past year, offers several key features for participating institutions:

• Prioritised reporting: Schools can submit reports on content that may violate Instagram’s community guidelines. These reports will be prioritised for review, with schools receiving status updates and notifications when action is taken.

• Educational resources: Instagram will provide materials to support educators, parents, guardians, and students in navigating social media safely.

• Profile banner for official partners: Schools that join the programme will receive a banner on their Instagram profiles, allowing students and parents to identify them as official partners. Tapping the banner will provide further details about the initiative.

D.J. Ashford, a media teacher and representative at Muwekma Ohlone Middle School, praised the initiative, stating, “Within the first week of partnering with Instagram, we saw bullying and harassing posts and profiles taken down. Their prioritising of verified school accounts and speedy response supports schools in reducing student anxiety and increasing student safety.”

The introduction of the School Partnership Programme builds on the platform's broader commitment to youth safety, following the recent launch of Instagram Teen Accounts. This feature enables parents to oversee their children’s social media usage while implementing automatic protections to limit unwanted contact and inappropriate content. Additionally, parents have the ability to restrict Instagram use during school hours to prevent distractions.

Richard Culatta, CEO of ISTE+ASCD, noted the significance of the initiative, saying, “Education leaders have made it clear that they need more control over social media in order to ensure a healthy digital culture in their schools. We’re excited that, now, school reports will be heard and acted upon in a timely and purposeful way.”

Middle and high schools in the US can join the School Partnership Programme waitlist through Instagram’s settings under ‘Account type and tools’ or ‘Business tools and controls’. Further details and enrolment information are available at about.instagram.com/community/educators.