With the growing awareness that bullying if far from a harmless rite of childhood passage, the federal government is planning a $3.4 million campaign to combat the practice.

The government will join forces with more than 70 education, law enforcement, civic and religious groups to identify bullying as a public health concern. The campaign, expected to start next year, will target school children and the adults who influence them, the Associated Press reports.

The aim is a culture change in which bullying is portrayed as uncool. Other goals: To teach parents the warning signs of bullying, encourage children to stand up for each other, and train teachers to intervene when problems arise, the news agency says.

The campaign will include a Web site, commercials, and a network of nonprofit groups to help raise awareness and offer tips.

An estimated three in 10 American school children are affected by bullying, either as a bully, a victim or both, the AP says, citing a 2001 study of students in sixth through 10th grades that was done by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.

Bullying has also been blamed on some of the fatal school shootings that have erupted across the United States in recent years