"When the school didn't do anything, I told the girls, if the school didn't do anything, I was going to do something," Rich told Fox 35 -- and that's what got her in trouble.

The school, however, appears to be standing behind its response. Fox 35 reports that a school spokesman said two wrongs don't make a right.

Rich said she had been following school policy, which calls on students to report any bullying to authorities, and now she is being punished.

"I can't comment about student discipline," Lake County Schools spokesman Christopher Patton told the Daily Commercial, but he cautioned, "you've got one side of the story. ... There are other parents that are involved in this."

As for the loss of bus privileges, it won't matter to Rich: She soon will graduate with a 3.67 GPA and plans to study nursing next year at Daytona State College, the newspaper reported.