Ministry of Education Prepares Penalties for Uncooperative Parents

Education Minister Christoph Wiederkehr explained in the Ö1 "Morgenjournal" that it will take some time before this model is implemented. "That means not in this and probably not in the next school year either." According to Wiederkehr, penalties should only be imposed as a last resort; before that, the minister relies on prevention and information.

Penalties for Uncooperative Parents in Lower Austria from Autumn

"If a child is suspended due to violence at school and the parents refuse to talk to the teachers, then that is unacceptable and there must ultimately be a sanction in the form of an administrative penalty." How often such penalties will be necessary cannot currently be estimated by the ministry. In Lower Austria, penalties for uncooperative parents of kindergarten children are already planned from autumn. There, violations threaten fines of up to 2,500 euros. Governor Johanna Mikl-Leitner (ÖVP) described these as an "important building block in the fight against integration refusal," and in a working meeting with Wiederkehr, she recently advocated for an expansion of the model to schools. Carinthia's regional councilor Daniel Fellner (SPÖ) can also imagine sanctions "as the last possible consequence" in the "Kleine Zeitung." His colleague Stefan Hermann (FPÖ) from Styria wants to refrain from fines for the time being but will observe developments at the federal level and in other states.

Penalty Threats Wrong Approach for Greens

Green education spokesperson Sigrid Maurer warned in a press release against expecting significant effects from penalty threats. In the rare cases where parent-teacher meetings are refused, it mainly affects children with severe social disadvantages in practice. Drastic financial penalties would therefore most likely affect the children again. Instead of political staging, what is needed, as the NEOS have long demanded, is a massive expansion of school social work and parent education.

(APA/Red)

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