Pranks on teachers have always been considered an adolescent right of passage, but educators say many kids now cross the line on the Internet…and action must be taken. Some school districts are striking back by punishing kids. Critics say schools sometimes go too far when regulating the Internet, and violate students' rights. But how far is too far in this digital age? Avery Doninger learned that lesson the hard way after her school canceled an event she'd been working on for months. "I was venting on my blog and I called the administration (expletive)," Avery explains. A few weeks later, she was called into the office and banned from running for class secretary. "The school punished me because they said that it did not show good citizenship," Avery says. Nancy Willard is the director of The Center For Safe and Responsible Internet Use. She says the manner in which schools respond varies. She says these days kids post their thoughts instead of writing in journals. The problem is they're on the Web for the world to see! While some students simply vent about school policies or actions…some go much further. "The problem of young people targeting teachers and other school staff is one that appears to be growing, from just a comment that's negative about a teacher to really serious kinds of incidents," Willard says. According to a survey by the National School Board Association, nearly 26% of respondents say false sites about administrators and teachers have been a problem. Tom Hutton works for the NSBA. "At times it can be very serious and distressing to a teacher, sometimes it's just a mere annoyance," Hutton says. So how do schools know when to get involved? It depends if it appears to be a simple criticism or a serious threat. "Schools generally say, 'Well, hands off on that, that's totally appropriate.' If it comes to really insulting and disparaging comments, that becomes more of a concern," Hutton explains. Those comments can lead to disciplinary action from suspension to expulsion. Even worse....there could be an incident like in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg School District in North Carolina. Nora Carr works for the district. She explains, "Even a situation we had recently, where a teacher was basically accused of pedophilia." Detective Kenny Lynch is a Cyber Crimes Expert who works for the school police in Carr's district. After pressing the kids involved in that case, he says they admitted the accusations were false. Some were disciplined, one was charged. "You don't have the right to slander somebody. You don't have the right to get on there and say that someone is a pedophile, or targeting children, when they're not," Detective Lynch says. He patrols social networking sites for cases that cross the line, but just where that line is is up for debate. First Amendment expert Jeffrey Shaman says since cyberbullying is relatively new…laws and protections for bloggers and their targets are still evolving. "Prohibiting the libelous speech, prohibiting, regulating true threats, regulating harassment under certain circumstances, these laws need to be more precisely defined," Shaman warns. Shaman says sometimes concerned schools go too far and stifle kids' rights. Jon Schoenhorn is Avery's attorney, and agrees. "Students do not lose their First Amendment rights just because they go to school and, therefore, it's important to show that there is a line where a school administrator cannot cross," Shhoenhorn says. As for Avery, she filed suit against her principal and the school superintendent. "I think that it's really important for students to stand up for their rights because if we don't maintain democracy on the lowest levels, we'll never be able to maintain them on the highest levels," Avery points out. We contacted Avery's school for comment on the case, but got no response. Avery lost her case in court and is now appealing. According to her attorney, the case was heard in March and a decision is expected this summer. As for the student charged in detective Lynch's district, charges were eventually dropped. Experts note parents need to take an active role in talking to their kids about the issue of posting, and in knowing what their kids are posting online.