In a recent phone call home, I learned that my sister and one of her good friends are being bullied. Incessantly. This has been going on for some time, and now, my outgoing little sister is terrified to go to school, her grades are slipping, and she is having panic attacks. She is in the guidance counselor's office every day, hiding and talking about it. There are documented examples of her being cyber-bullied, and the police were even involved at one point, when everything first started. She hasn't even been at this school for a year, and she has been being picked on the entire time. As I heard my mom's rant through the phone speaker, my heart swelled up.

Yet, despite all of this (which is pretty serious, actually), the middle school she attends won't do anything about it. In the second formal meeting with the entire administration, my sister's claims were dismissed, and she was blamed for being bullied. Yes, you read that right. The principal claimed that she had never seen my sister in their office and that she should have spoken up sooner. Basically, she said they couldn't and wouldn't do anything about it. They refuse to even talk to the bully. Even if they weren't lying straight to this terrified teen and her mom's faces, even if she hadn't been there every day, what does it matter when she speaks up?

This principal then continued to tell my sister that she (and I quote) "could not guarantee her safety" from this bully. Aside from this being completely against a public school's duty to be a safe environment for all of its students, my mother took it upon herself to find the school's policy on bullying in the Student Handbook. There, it claims that there is a "zero tolerance" policy for any harassment of one student from another either in person or online that could cause physical harm or emotional stress to them. However, this policy is obviously a lie, and even pointing out to them their hypocritical ways did not change anyone's decision to be completely useless. Zero tolerance means nothing to them.

Now, as I found out in this rather extensive phone call, my mother sees no better choice than to pay for an online program so that my sister can be home schooled for the remainder of the school year. The way she sees it, by being home schooled, my sister won't have to worry about seeing this girl in her first period class every day and being hunted down after it ends (and anywhere else she is that isn't at home). I am outraged. She has informed the school of this decision, and they still don't care. My sister's middle school would rather her be withdrawn and home schooled than for them to discipline her bully.

This whole "zero tolerance" thing is a pretty common policy to have in schools. However, it hasn't stopped anything, and this school isn't the only one I've heard about contradicting themselves. There have been numerous stories in the past few years of teens committing suicide as a result of being bullied, and with every story I've read, the school knew of what was going on and simply did nothing about it. Google it, and you will find too many. Now, families like those of Lamar Hawkins, III and Bartlomeij "Bart" Palosz are even suing school districts for not intervening and indirectly being a contributor to the students' deaths. This is not an isolated incident, and it's easy to imagine that there are even more incidents of every severity. There's even a documentary about it.

As an institution that exists for these children, it is a school's duty to keep them safe during their time there. Bullying is a real issue everywhere; it makes students lose their interest in school and fear for their safety, and it can turn even the most enthusiastic people, like my little sister, into depressed teens who can't focus on their work. School should be a safe environment, and this school specifically told my sister that they could not guarantee her safety from another 14-year-old girl. "Zero tolerance" at these schools is a lie. It's time that administrations stop ignoring the kids they claim to be protecting and enforce the policies that they claim to stand for.