Bullying is a serious problem in U.S. schools and abroad. It impacts children of all nationalities and leads to psychological and physical effects of the victims. With bullying causing nearly 160,000 students to be absent daily from school, the critical questions to be asked are: Is it time to fine parents for their children being a bully? How can schools address bullying? What is a parent university?

The U.S. Department of Education defines bullying as “unwanted, aggressive, repetitive behavior that involves a real or perceived power imbalance.” In bullying incidents, the victim has the potential to be exposed repeatedly over time with negative actions by the perpetrators and has a difficult time defending himself or herself. Considering the excessive number of bullying incidents, some states such as Wisconsin are holding parents responsible for their children bullying other children and fining the parents for each bullying offense.

As additional laws and consequences are enforced to address inappropriate student behavior such as bullying, school leaders must employ research-based strategies to help promote a positive learning environment. One effective strategy is a parent university. It provides an opportunity for parents to become actively involved in their children’s education. Some school districts use parent university to teach parents about school policies, child development, what subjects children are taking in school, how to be an advocate for the school and effective parenting skills.

Other school districts use parent university to provide teach parents core and non-core classes to help them become comfortable with their children’s subjects and, ultimately, help their children succeed in school. For effectiveness, a parent university should occur at convenient times for parents such as evenings and weekends. When parents become actively involved in school, student academic and conduct improves. As such, this can help address the problem of bullying in the school setting.

Dr. Ronald Holmes is the author of nine books, “Education Questions to be Answered,” “Current Issues and Answers in Education,” “How to Eradicate Hazing,” “Professional Career Paths,” “Your Answers to Education Questions,” “How to revitalize the National Baptist Convention, USA, Inc.” “Completing the Dissertation: Tips, techniques and real-life experiences from Ph.D. graduates,” “Jacob’s Dream, A Story of Careers for Children” and Jacob’s Dream, A Story of Animals in Africa. He is publisher of “The Holmes Education Post,” an education focused Internet newspaper.  Holmes is a former teacher, school administrator and district superintendent. He can be reached at [email protected]