Law proposed to fine parents if their kids are bullies

SUN PRAIRIE, Wisconsin (KTRK) -- Parents in Wisconsin are looking for a way to hold other parents accountable if their children are bullies.

WISC reports Sun Prairie City Alders are proposing a law change aiming to do just that.

Bullying is many parents' worst nightmare.

"My first goal was to stop it as quickly as possible," says mother, Rogette Koby.

That's exactly what Koby did back in October, after finding out her 12-year-old daughter was being bullied by a group of girls at school.

"At one point they cornered her when she was all by herself, and they had a large number of them saying that they were going to basically beat her...you know what, and that could happen anywhere, that could happen in a bathroom, that could happen in behind the school," warned Koby.

Sun Prairie City Alder, Maureen Crombie is proposing a city-wide anti-bullying ordinance, modeled after a law Monona, Wisconsin enacted in 2013.

"It's basically just another tool in the tool box," Crombie said.

The ordinance the city administrator prepared covers all types of harassment, including bullying that is verbal, physical, or even electronic.

The ordinance is an opportunity to bring parents, police, and the school district together to take a stand against harassment.

Crombie said, "The one thing that people have a concern about is the fact that they are going to be issuing tickets. The tickets could be anywhere from $50 to $1000 it says in the ordinance."

The parents in support of the proposal are aware that it's not necessarily just the punishment that's important, but also the conversation that comes with it.

"Although it's really scary to be the parent of a bullied child, we were able to stop it quickly, there's other families that aren't so lucky, said Koby."

Koby continued that, "the school district can't mandate that the parents come to the table, but law enforcement can, and when they do that, the parents are mandated to get involved."

A spokesperson says the Sun Prairie Area School District hasn't taken a stance on the ordinance yet, but they do have many programs in place to prevent bullying.

The proposal will be brought up in the city's youth and family commission next Thursday.