When school starts in New Jersey in September (that's already TOMORROW, you guys!), it's going to be open season on bullies, thanks to a new law going intended to snuff out bullying. In the wake of the tragic suicide of Rutgers student Tyler Clementi, as well as a general surge in cyber-bullying, Jersey lawmakers passed the Anti-Bullying Bill of Rights [pdf], which is considered the toughest legislation against bullying in the nation, the Times reports. Too tough, if you ask some educators. more ›

We know they say never bring a knife to a gunfight, but what about bringing a knife and BB gun to school, because your mom wants to make sure you can defend yourself against bullies? A Connecticut woman was arrested and charged with risk of injury to a minor after school officials discovered "a pistol-style BB gun and a folding knife in [her son's] backpack Friday afternoon." Why? Sylvia Mojica allegedly told police her son was being bullied and the school's security also said it "had seen the boy being chased by other students on at least one previous occasion." more ›

This week, the Department of Education is calling for a moratorium on pantsing, Indian rope burns, titty-twisters, and lunch money graft at city schools. Students will be taking part in a broad range of activities and special programs, "such as school-wide presentations, performances and art projects, interactive classroom workshops, peer education, and student-led poster campaigns," according to the City Council. Some students will also participate in "Diversity Panels, where student-leaders share stories of past struggles with bullying and harassment." Which should be very cathartic, but on Monday, it's back to getting stuffed in your lockers, nerds. more ›

A 14-year-old honor student tells the NY Post her direct pleas to Schools Chancellor Joel Klein about her safety at her school were ignored—until she was injured. Kimselle Castanos, whose family also repeatedly asked for a transfer, gave Klein a letter detailing how she was "terrorized by a band of teens at the Foreign Language Academy of Global Studies," back in December. He asked her to e-mail him, which the 14-year-old did, sending a total of 25 e-mails (from 12/22: "I am scared about what they are going to do to me") but without reply. Last month, the bullies, who attend a special education school in the same building, found her in the cafeteria: "A girl yanked Kimselle's ponytail so hard she heard a crack in her neck." Kimselle was transferred to the Bronx Leadership Academy; the Department of Education says her family never provided documentation of the threat and that it had been in contact with them. But, Kimselle, who wears a neck brace and whose parents plan to sue, wonders, "I don't understand why it took me getting hurt." more ›