Parental control
If students skip too many classes in Escambia County, Fla., their parents may be subject to punishment–and it could be a little harsher than a visit to the principal’s office. According to The Pensacola News-Journal, a juvenile court judge says that parents of chronically absent students could get jail time.
The district, which has about 40,000 students, defines truancy as 10 unexcused absences in 90 calendar days. Last year, 583 students were absent without an excuse for at least 30 days. This year, after only two weeks of classes, 177 students have missed at least five days.
The school district has been working with the judge to make sure the consequences of truancy had a little more bite to them. Parents most at risk of getting jailed are those who already have had several visits from school officials and several offers of help. “It’s not like we’re blindsiding anybody,” a district official says.
Do you think jail time is an appropriate punishment for the parents of truant children?
September 11th, 2007 @ 1:01 pm
Yep, they should go to jail. Kids are often too little and need parents to wake them up, feed them, and take them to school. My son did not miss one day of school from grades 1-12. Had the chicken pox vaccine been out, he would have missed no school at all, but he got sick and needed to stay home 5 days. I had him in private Christian school, and since I was paying, I wanted him to get my money’s worth. Plus, I felt school is very competitive, and if he missed, this would put him at a disadvantage. My son graduated salutatorian and got a scholarship to college. I am sure his going every day played a huge part.