I agree that the school should recognize that this is a very real threat for our children and take action to protect our children as far as they can. but what can we expect? The school to supply an employee to walk every child home? 40 years ago as a child I was jumped by 5 guys across the street from my house! lawsuits however just complicate and slow down things. Californian's are the most litigious people on the earth and where has it gotten us, more polluted than anywhere else on earth except China. More crime Than China..It does very little other than make a few more lawyers even richer. And in the end the original passion to fix the problem has been killed in the accounting process.

legally requiring parents to be more responsible is a course of action and more should be done there. But, where do you think this bullying behavior comes from? Granted there are a small percentage of these children ( The Bully's) that come from wonderful home lives and due to some organic malfunction they just turn out bent and sadistic. But for the most part these children come from pretty hacked up home lives. They experience violence against themselves and others in their presence, alcohol and drug abuse, foul language and behavior, the indifference or anger of parents more interested in their own comforts and vices to recognize that they have brought a life into this world and are responsible for it. How else are they supposed to behave except as they have been taught? Same thing goes for these teen agers that have just been arrested for the restaurant invasion robberies and gangs in general. You even hear them say it. They have no family except the gang.

No, where the focus needs to lie for everyone of us, is in the absolute lack of ability either by under staffing and under funding or by sheer ignorance and arrogance of Child Protective Services in all of our areas to identify and re mediate these situations. Up to and including removing the child from the parents custody permanently.

A great example. In my neighborhood there is this single mother with a very young daughter. She has been seen screaming at the child, striking the child (More than just a spank on the butt), leaving the child outside at night in the cold because she had company and didn't want to be disturbed in her activities. Along with a plethora of other insults..... Child Protective Services has been called more than once by the womans relatives and by neighbors. Yet every time they arrive she manages to look like Martha Stewart for them. And using any one of several "Poor Me" stories which she has had much practice using on the neighbors, has always been able to send the CPS investigator away saying the relatives and neighbors are wrong and everything is fine. How do you think this little girl will turn out?

Our politicians and all of the CPS organizations in our areas need a good swift kick to be let know what all of us already know. There are people out there with children that have no business being parents. And that when you have substantial independent verification taking place, these children need to be taken out of the abusive situation. Either temporarily, returning the child only after serious re education and heavy monitoring of the parents. Or permanently placing the child where they will receive the care and attention they need to stop responding in anger and lashing out at those weaker than they are. And learn to be loving,caring citizens who will be good parents themselves one day.

Even in these times of recession and budget cuts CPS needs to be overhauled and beefed up to the levels that it is possible for an immediate and automatic investigation of the Bully's family in each case reported. Start finding these children and getting them out of the destructive situations they are in and making sure they have the chance to be taught how to be productive and peace loving citizens.