crime. it s why he tries to convince other kids to stand up for the bullied. save their fragile self-esteem. safe their lives. it s his promise to a boy who loved his family, hunting, and the st. louis cardinals. we haven t done ty s last load of laundry because it still smells like him. we haven t washed his sheets because i can go in there and lay on his bed and still smell my boy. you want to learn what bullying and suicide is all about, you talk to the people directly who it affects the most.
when might something happen? when might the federal government act and say these are the guidelines we want to put in place, do it? i think it s taken us a long time to develop a bullying problem. it s going to take us a long time to solve it. it s why there are no guidelines schools must follow to deal with bullying. they re on their own. in smalley s own state of oklahoma, each school district deals with bullying in different ways. it s something else that infuriates smalley. a lot of schools in the country, their answer to bullying is they let the victim leave a little bit early. they let them go home early to get a head start on the bully. this child that s been picked on, you re singling him out now. real solutions will come too late for ty. but kirk smalley is on that mission. we ve kept this alive through the summer. it s why he organized vigils at the oklahoma state house. he thinks bullying ought to be a
i don t hold that s a harsh thing to say about yourself. i m his dad. i know, but he s out in the world. it s my job to protect him. no matter what. no matter where he was. it was my job to protect him. reporter: but how do you protect your child from a bully? assistant deputy education secretary kevin jennings was appointed by president obama to keep kids safe at school. ty s story could easily have been his own. were you bullied in school? like many kids i was bullied severely in junior high and high school. the first day of tenth grade i refused to go back to school. i wasn t going to back to a place where i got bullied every day. he organized the nation s first ever bullying summit. even he admits it s a baby step. experts can t agree on how to define bullying. is it physical? electronic? psychological? nonverbal? or all of the above?
for years his son ty struggled with a bully at school. and when you say he was being picked on, how was he being picked on? name calling. ty was always kind of small. shove here, push there. he was a typical kid with typical grades who took the abuse for two years. on the day ty finally decided to push back physically, he got into trouble. he was suspended from school. for ty, that was too much to bear. on that day last may he killed himself. he was 11 years old. ultimately my son s safety rested in my hands. i was responsible for my son s safety.
a cnn opinion research poll asked teenagers if they had ever been ridiculed, i m i willated or threatened by another child. 37% said yes, 63%, no. when asked if they had ever been afraid to go to school because of such actions by another child, only 8% said yes, 92% said no. got to tell you the battle against bullying is a very personal one for a father whose little boy committed suicide. our carol costello reports. reporter: kirk smalley is on a mission. there he is, an honored guest at oklahoma city s western heights high school. trying to put a stop to bullying. i have to make a difference. i promised my son on father s day this year i d stop this from happening to another child. reporter: for years, smalley s son, ty, struggled with a bully at school. and when you say he was being picked on, how was he being