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TALLAHASSEE, FL — Attorney General Bill McCollum today announced his CyberSafety Education program has reached over 1,000 Florida schools, a significant benchmark for the program that was launched in 2007. Freedom High School in Orange County was the 1,000th school in Florida to receive the CyberSafety presentation, and the school's principal emphasized the importance of having teachers and students learn about safe internet use.

“Educating children about CyberSafety is a vital component in our fight against online child predators,” said Attorney General McCollum. “If children know how to protect themselves and report the predators, they can potentially save lives.”

The CyberSafety Education program, Attorney General McCollum’s top priority since taking office in 2007, combines real-life stories and examples to help middle and high school students identify ways they could be victimized by online predators and encourages safe internet use. To date, the 50-minute interactive program has been presented to over 482,000 middle and high school students statewide.

“Attorney General McCollum’s CyberSafety presentation was highly beneficial to both our students and our teachers,” said Freedom High School Principal Harold Border. “While the internet is a valuable resource, it is imperative that children are aware of the dangers of releasing too much personal information online and learn how to protect themselves from child predators.”

The Attorney General’s CyberSafety Education program has been endorsed by the Florida Department of Education, the Florida School Board Association, the Florida Association of School Administrators, the Florida Association of District School Superintendents, the Florida School Resource Officers Association, the Florida Police Chiefs Association, the Florida Sheriffs Association and the Florida Commission on the Status of Women. The presentations have also been hailed as among the best in the nation by John Walsh, co-founder of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and host of America’s Most Wanted.

Parents are encouraged to contact their children’s schools and encourage their principals to contact the Attorney General’s Office to schedule a presentation. Designated school personnel may schedule presentations by logging onto http://www.safeflorida.net/safeschools and following the prompts. More information about the Attorney General’s CyberSafety message is available online at: http://www.safeflorida.net.