This week, we've seen what bullying can lead to: death.
A 14-year-old Michigan girl hanged herself Monday after being made fun of for accusing an 18-year-old of having sex with her.
That story has local schools considering changes to their bullying policies to make sure differences can be resolved without violence.
June Justice of metro Detroit, mother of 14-year-old Samantha Kelly says, "My daughter did not get any justice before this, and she ain't getting justice now."
Kelly accused 18-year-old Joe Tarnopolski of having sex with her.
Kids at school didn't believe here, made fun of her, throwing dog feces at her, and saying she was a liar.
Samantha killed herself earlier this week.
Dr. Craig Douglas, superintendent of Carrollton Schools says, "If we step back and we're not proactive on it, it disrupts all aspects of schooling." Douglas says his school district takes bullying seriously, even in cyberspace outside of school.
Here's Carrollton High School's online bullying policy:
"Students who bully other students or make threatening remarks on-line can be disciplined by the school if it is deemed to interfere with the health or safety of others."
Douglas says, "That is dealt with just as if it were maybe a more traditional non-interactive bullying that maybe we grew up with as kids."
Carrollton Middle School principal Tiffany Peterson says there are normally three people involved in a bullying situation: the bully, the victim, and the bystander.
"Each of those people have a key role in the situation," says Peterson.
Teachers say the solution often isn't a simple one by punishing the bully and encouraging the victim. They say there are several other things that are going on that need to be addressed.
"Sometimes it stems from home. Sometimes they're having a bad day. They just want to take it out on someone else. Sometimes there's something deeper that we really need to dig into," Peterson says.
Experts say the victim must come forward to stop the bullying and get help themselves.
In Samantha Kelly's case, she's the only witness to the accusation. Her death closes the door on any prosecution.
Flushing Schools is considering revising its policy on bullying, which includes cyber-bullying.
It's previous policy was adopted in 2003 before a lot of social media was available.
The school board will vote on that December 7th.
