The Virginia Department of Education has distributed a memo to all schools describing examples of "sexting" including the impact, implications for schools and legal consequences, and recommending that the schools develop a policy for sexting.

Producing, storing or sharing lewd or explicit pictures of minors is against the law in Virginia. And there are felonies in the state code that "apply to students merely possessing such images on their cell phones, sharing them with other students via cell phone or producing them using their cell phones". But the Virginia Code has no specific law addressing minors sending pictures of themselves to friends who are also minors.

The State Crime Commission decided not to support any amendments in state child-pornography laws to try to better address sexting, but the Division of Legislative Services has received two bill drafting requests on the subject.

Source: School systems urged to develop ‘sexting’ policies, Raymond Times Dispatch, December 26, 2009

Tags: Sexting, Virginia, legislation, education