BEAUMONT, Texas — Online safety is a big concern for parents as children across Texas get ready to head back to school.
And parents in the Lone Star state can breathe a little easier.
Texas is among the safest states for kids to be online, according to a new report from CenturyLinkQuote.com.
The report shows the state making a big jump -- rising from #47 in 2018 to #8 in 2019.
"Texas has one of the lower victim rates per 100,000 residents under the age of 20," the report noted. There are more than eight million people under that age living in the state.
The study looked at three different metrics: internet crime rates, cyberbullying and sexting laws and malware infection rates.
Louisiana, Arkansas, Hawaii, South Dakota and Vermont were named the top five safest states for kids online, the CenturyLinkQuote study indicated.
Alaska, Nevada, New Hampshire, Montana and Virginia landed at the bottom of the list and are considered the most dangerous states for kids online.
In July, the U.S. Department of Education released new research showing an uptick in online bullying. About 20 percent of students, roughly one out of every five, reported being bullied. Cyberbullying reports increased in recent years with middle and high school girls reporting the most incidents.
Texas has a number of laws protecting children against cyberbullying.
David's Law, named after David Molak who took his own life after experiencing cyberbullying, allows schools to discipline for off-campus incidents.
The Texas School Safety Center also has a "bullying checklist" for schools that parents can also use as a resource.
