The author of a new book about bullying said taking social capital away from the bullies is key to combating it. There is a lot schools can do to help, Emily Bazelon said, but parents need to do their part too.

Radio Rookie Reporter Temitayo Fagbenle will host a live chat for for high school students about the problem of sexual cyberbullying – often of teen girls – on social media. Join the conversation.

As schools prepare to put an anti-bullying curriculum in place to comply with the Dignity for All Students Act, legislation has been proposed in New York that would criminalize cyberbullying. Many experts say educational programs work best to teach children to respect each other, but one legislator says stricter penalties are necessary as more youths communicate through texts and the Internet.

School communities are turning yet again to issues of bullying, guns and violence following the shooting rampage two weeks ago at Chardon High School near Cleveland. On WNYC’s “The Brian Lehrer Show” on Monday, Jessie Klein, an assistant professor of sociology and criminal justice at Adelphi University, makes the case that bullying, while hardly a new phenomenon, is a growing crisis in American schools that stems from a culture of competition and aggression.

Students who are the victims of harassment and intimidation by their peers can now call an after school hotline staffed by professional counselors. It’s a new initiative launched by the United Federation of Teachers, which plans to expand the program in January to include text messaging and online chat services.

The Panel for Educational Policy will vote Wednesday to try to bring the city’s regulations in line with the state’s new anti-bullying law. For one thing the change in rules will add the word “weight” to the things that students can’t harass and bully each other about.