Educators, school safety experts, and anti-bullying advocates typically agree that bullying is a serious issue. They also agree that anti-bullying strategies should be an integral component of a school's safety plan. However, differences remain in how bullying should be addressed. Those differences have become magnified as bullying has become an increasingly politicized issue. Mix in media hysteria on bullying and teen suicide issues, and educators find their efforts to address bullying challenged by distorted public perceptions and politically driven, overreaching, and overly prescriptive outside mandates on bullying issues.