What do you do if your child comes home from school on Monday and complains of being picked on or teased by other students?

School administrators urge parents to come to them to report the abuse so they can put a stop to it, though privacy laws can keep parents from learning the details of how the problem was resolved.

"The school can't help solve the problem if the school doesn't know about it," said Sarah Pelham, assistant superintendent for student support services for Anne Arundel County schools.

Parents may request that the school move their child to a different classroom or school, though the method of discipline...