A town in Wisconsin is cracking down on bullying, and is now able to issue tickets for an offense.
The Village Board of Plover, Wisconsin approved the ordinance in November of 2015, which imposes a $124 fine on parents of children who are repeatedly bullying their peers, according to a report by the Stevens Point Journal.
How it works, is upon the first bullying incident, parents are notified in writing about what happened. If the child is caught bullying again within 90 days, the parents will get a fine, the report said. That bullying could be at school, outside of school, online, or anywhere.
Plover Police Chief Dan Ault wrote and proposed the ordinance, the Journal reported. He said the police have to become involved in order to issue any fine. Ault said his intent was to hold parents responsible for what their kids do, and potentially force them to confront their kids about bullying if it is a problem.
“If my kids broke something or something happened, I was responsible for it,” Ault said, according to the Journal. “One way or the other, I was responsible for it as the parent.”
According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention bullying is considered a public health problem and 20-percent of high school students in the U.S. reported being bullied in 2013.