Playground bullies are nothing new. And cyberspace — the playground of the 21st century — has proved to be full of them as well, with children using text-messaging and blogging to hurt and intimidate other students.

Officials in the Alpine and Provo school districts want to put bullies on notice they will not tolerate such behavior. Both districts have new anti-bullying policies that include provisions against cyber-bullying.

The move brings both districts up to date with a resolution passed by the state Legislature last year encouraging school boards statewide to adopt anti-bullying policies. School boards in Provo and Alpine voted Tuesday to implement the policies.

"We believe in providing a safe and secure environment, which means students have to feel physically and emotionally safe," said Alpine School District spokeswoman Jerrilyn Mortensen.

Bullying, as defined in the district's new policy, is aggressive behavior intended to cause harm or distress in a relationship where there is an imbalance of power or strength. The bullying can happen in physical, verbal, written or psychological forms.

Both districts' policies are similar to the anti-bullying policy passed by the Nebo School District Board of Education in November.

Mortensen said that members of the school board tried to define bullying in a language that would allow all students, parents and school personnel to have a common understanding of the term.

"The policy is meant to define what is considered bullying so that as parents, teachers, students, and administrators work together, students can become educated about the effects of bullying on their classmates and also define it so that students realize there are consequences for bullies," she said.

Provo School District updated its Safe School Policy to include bullying, cyberbullying, harassment and hazing. The definitions in its policy are similar to those in Alpine School District's policy.

The Alpine School District's belief of the effects of bullying on its students is stated in the "philosophy" section of the policy.

"A student's ability to achieve academically can be reduced by bullying," the statement says. "Bullying can affect a student's attendance as well as his/her sense of well-being. Bullying may result in physical illness, mental and emotional anguish and long-term social consequences."

Previously, the district did not have a policy against bullying. The new policy was not prompted by an actual incident of bullying in the district, Mortensen said. District leaders wanted to be proactive in prevention as well as comply with the legislative resolution.

This doesn't mean bullying isn't a problem in schools, however. This month's newsletter for Timberline Middle School in Alpine said that a recent student survey showed that one out of four students feel bullying is a problem at the school.