Fines have been handed out to about 100 parents in the West Midlands for failing to ensure their children go to school this year.
The #50 penalty is part of a Government crackdown in the face of growing concern at truancy rates across the country.
Local authorities were given the power to slap fines on the parents of persistent offenders under new laws introduced last year.
Sandwell issued the highest number with 23 sent out since January.
It was followed by Walsall, which has issued 22 and Dudley 18.
Birmingham - Europe's biggest education authority - had 17 and Warwick six.
The total number of fines is likely to be considerably higher if figures for Wolverhampton, Coventry and Stoke-on-Trent - which were unable to provide them yesterday - are taken into account.
Coun Ian Jones (Lab Tipton), Sandwell Council's Cabinet member for schools and lifelong learning, said: "We believe we are at the forefront of trying to tackle this difficult problem and introduced our fixed penalty scheme last September."
Not all authorities in the region however appear to have met a Government deadline of having systems in place to start enforcing fines by the end of last year.
A spokesman foranfor Worcestershire said: "We are discussing with police and head teachers about how it will be implemented and will have to come back to Cabinet for approval."
Fixed penalties for truancy were introduced last February as part of a raft of measures in the 2003 Anti-Social Behaviour Act to tackle pupil behaviour.
Parents who fail to ensure their children stay in school despite repeated warnings are first fined #50. If they fail to pay up within 42 days, the penalty rises to #100 and courts can ultimately impose a jail sentence.
Figures from the Department for Education and Skills show nearly a third of secondary school pupils and a quarter of primary-age children played truant in Birmingham during 2003/04.
