Should Student Be Fined $600 for Cursing?

In the old days, a teacher might have slapped your hand with a ruler for cursing at school. Now, they just slap you with a fine.

In October, a Mesquite, Texas, high school student was fined $340 after a teacher reported her to campus police for shouting foul language at another student, CBS reported.

But it gets even worse. The student, who denies she said the words loud enough for the class to hear, never showed up for court, adding penalties that brought the fine to more than $600.

That's one expensive four-letter word.

“Unfortunately, people say things that they might later regret or say things out of emotion and, just like if you said it in a public place and someone complained, you could be issued a ticket for it," Mesquite Independent School District spokesperson Ian Halperin told CBS. "There are laws against it."

Halperin says student fines aren’t unusual, but can be avoided in some cases.

"You know, for first offenders the fine sometimes can be waived," he said. "Parents do need to understand that these are tickets issued by the police and they do need to follow up with them."

But $600 is a lot of money -- and guess who's going to wind up footing the bill? Not little foul-mouthed Junior, but Mom and Dad.