Wisconsin town tickets the parents of chronic school bullies

One Wisconsin town is going to new lengths to address the problem of bullying and emotional abuse among children.

Parents in Monona, Wisc. can now be ticketed and fined in municipal court for failing to address bullying in school.

The ordinance was passed by the Monona City Council last month and went into effect on Thursday.

It allows police to issue a ticket to any parent who is obstructive or uncooperative when approached about their child's bullying.

If a parent is notified in writing that their child is bullying, and the child has another incident of bullying within 90 days, the parents can be fined $114 in municipal court.

Monona Police Chief Wally Ostrenga said that a recent rash of school shootings and teen suicides across the country sparked interest in the ordinance and that it will be used as a last resort.

"Sometimes you’ll knock on someone’s door and they won’t want to talk to you — their kids are perfect, they could never do anything wrong," Ostrenga told the Wisconsin State Journal.

"This is for those times when we get the door slammed in our faces."

Julie Hertzog, director of the National Bullying Prevention Center in Minnesota said this is the first community she has heard of passing such a rule. 

It may be a novel idea but Monona city attorney William S. Cole said that he believes the ordinance would withstand any potential court challenges.