Wisconsin Town Wants Parents of Bullies to Literally Pay Up

In Monona, Wisconsin, a new law fines bullies — and his/her parents, assuming said bully isn’t rolling in petty cash — upwards of $114.

The new ordinance is intended to be a last resort for parents who refuse to work with school and police to get kids in line; the mom and dad-specific part is called “parental responsibility,” and it fines parents $114 for a first offense and $177 for subsequent ones, after written warning.

Every state except Montana has currently has anti-bullying laws in place, but this is the only one in the country that targets parents by making them pay per punch or insult. The law definitely sends a strong message that bullying is serious and parents need to step up, but it implies that parents can usually resolve a bullying issue if they try hard enough, which is a dubious premise.

From Yahoo! Shine:

Finally, Brenda High, whose son Jared took his own life at 13 after being bullied at school, and who now runs the watchdog Bully Police USA, said she felt the law would help make the schools more accountable, as well as parents, which was encouraging. But despite the loss of her son, she added that it’s the rare parent who wouldn’t try to help out after learning about a child who was bullying. “I’d say in 75 percent of bullying cases, the parents have no clue, and are shocked when they hear about it,” she said.