Two Fort Collins middle school students have lost their lives to suicide after being relentlessly bullied by classmates, and now the entire community is mourning a tragedy that could have been avoided. School districts have both a moral and legal obligation to put a stop to bullying. Students have a right to a safe learning environment and should never feel threatened to the point of taking their own lives.

The older sister of one of the victims recently spoke to the local press about how her sibling had been bullied since second grade, implying the girl had endured bullying for the last four years. In one case, her sister came home with a broken arm. Other students who rode the bus with the girl claimed she was “counting down her days”. These are the warning signs that schools should act on, notifying not only parents, but also mental health professionals.

School districts have a legal duty to provide for the safety of students and a moral obligation to ensure they do not feel threatened. The legal consequences of failing to stop bullying have been severe in cases involving suicide. For example, a Florida school board is now facing a lawsuit after a student committed suicide due to severe bullying. In another case in California, a family was awarded $1 million after losing their son to bullying.

Although the legal and financial consequences can be severe for school districts, the moral obligation to ensure safety is what really counts. No child should ever have to be afraid of going to school, or made to feel so worthless that suicidal ideation occurs. Although schools have protocols for handling bullying, an obvious failure occurred in these two recent cases. As information continues to be released, it seems evident there were visible warning signs.

If school districts and the community play a greater role in standing up to bullying, future tragedies and loss of life could be averted.