"It is a problem that has been...ignored for quite a while," piped Tonja Nansel of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development and the study's leading author. It seems that school administrations are less and less inclined to enforce discipline and keep cycling bullies back into the classroom rather than kicking them out of school.

Current emphasis in schools is to have a low dropout rate so children who cause trouble are retained. The school becomes a warehouse for bullies because society does not want these troublemakers out on the streets. These bullies not only disrupt classrooms, but influence other students to do the same. Worse, although a growing number of schools across the country have adopted "bullying intervention programs" the prospect of such new-age tactics take little account of tried and true methods of discipline.

Experts fear apathy among parents. Ms. Nansel stated that there is a pervasive attitude that "kids will be kids and this is just going to happen." She failed to go further to point out that parents should be more supportive of disciplinary measures in schools and should also teach their children that the best way to stop being bullied is to stand up to bullies.