AndieIsMe is offline AndieIsMe — Advice Member-Moderator Post #1  December 12,2011, 3:12pm
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I found this interesting. Florida county will throw parents of truant kids in jail | The Lookout - Yahoo! News

My son has a chronic condition and sometimes doesn't feel well enough to go to school. I will not risk his health just so he doesn't miss XX amount of school days in a particular month/year/semester. The schools are fully aware of his condition and medications he takes. They also know that sometimes it is the medications and not his condition that takes a toll.

I sometimes have to argue with vice principles about his missed days. They aren't many, but seem to top what they deem appropriate. And, when he does stay home he isn't playing around. He is usually in bed, sleeping.

Personally, I think it is wrong to expect parents of "certain kids" to be held responsible for attending school. While we are responsible for raising responsible children, sometimes you just cannot control their actions outside of your immediate presence.
 
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Sassafras54 is online now Sassafras54 — Advice Official Moderator Post #2  December 12,2011, 4:53pm
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That's interesting. I would think "good reasons" would exempt the parents, but perhaps that gets left to a judge's discretion? and that could be dicey?

But for truly truant kids -- not ill, no good reason not to go to school -- I agree parents can't control everything their kids do, and less and less as they get older, but if a kid doesn't go to school for 2 months and the parent doesn't do anything about it? that must be frustrating for the schools and maybe this is a good way to respond. Plus, the kid is getting shorted. Maybe it's more a matter for social services than punitive fines/jail but ... I know where I live the social services are not exactly flush! and pretty much respond just to life-threatening things I think.
 
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upstategirl is offline upstategirl Post #3  December 12,2011, 5:26pm
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This makes me think of a man I knew years ago who was a single parent of a 10 year old girl. During the time frame of when I knew him from September till the end of December, his daughter had already missed 17 days of school. The school she missed was not because she was ill, but the simple fact that she would tell her father she didn't feel like going to school. His excuse was that it wasn't worth dealing with his daughter having a temper tantrum, so he would just let her stay home anytime she liked.

In this case, it is the father who should be held responsible for her truancy. I don't know if I necessarily agree with jail time, but I honestly don't know what the best answer would be.

Your case is a totally different story Andie. I'm sorry to hear your son has a chronic condition, it must be tough on both of you. It seems like the school system should be a bit more understanding to your son's needs, as his health is so much more important than his school attendance.
 
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AndieIsMe is offline AndieIsMe — Advice Member-Moderator Post #4  December 12,2011, 10:11pm
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It would be much easier if my son would get better grades! I think they look at that as the bottom line.

That man and his daughter, that is kinda sad. I know of parents who made excuses for their children and then those same children become, let's say, less than honest in their adult lives. One girl I can think of specifically would cut school as a teenager. She supposedly got cancer during her senior year and missed so much school due to that, combined with her cutting, that she wasn't allowed to graduate. They fought, and I think lost, the school on that decision.

If a child misses more than two weeks of school due to non health or family emergency reasons I agree that something needs to be done. But, jail time for the parents? Most of the time those same children don't respect their parents and wouldn't care what happens to them. So, it would just be another reason to cut class and cause trouble.
 
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Diann1950 is online now Diann1950 Post #5  December 14,2011, 6:30am
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There are more and more alternatives for kids who are chronically ill or have immune issues. E-schools which are public schools that are used by kids for numerous reasons. We had a girl who was as serious figure skater and could only get ice times at odd hours. This allowed her to attend school on her schedule. As to older truants, as a former teacher I am torn both ways, yes the kid needs to be in school, but I don't want or need another kid in my class who has no intend to doing anything productive. I would rather see some more options for these kids, like a tech school where they worked hands on at least half of the time and class room time the other half.
 
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AndieIsMe is offline AndieIsMe — Advice Member-Moderator Post #6  December 14,2011, 9:47am
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Diann1950 wrote :
There are more and more alternatives for kids who are chronically ill or have immune issues. E-schools which are public schools that are used by kids for numerous reasons. We had a girl who was as serious figure skater and could only get ice times at odd hours. This allowed her to attend school on her schedule. As to older truants, as a former teacher I am torn both ways, yes the kid needs to be in school, but I don't want or need another kid in my class who has no intend to doing anything productive. I would rather see some more options for these kids, like a tech school where they worked hands on at least half of the time and class room time the other half.
When I was growing up there was a second "high school". It was for the kids that couldn't deal well with authority. They rarely achieved a HSD (though a few did graduate), most worked towards a GED. Then they started a third "high school" which was called a Community School. I don't know much about how it worked or what they did there, etc. I think they only had to go so many hours during the day. Now, I think the second high school is gone and Community School is only available for the truly unruly.

I feel for teachers who have to put up with kids who disrupt classes, etc. But, how you treat authority figures and teachers in general is typically taught from home.

I think a case by case review should be done on the families of the parents who were jailed.
 
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singinggirl is offline singinggirl Post #7  December 14,2011, 7:29pm
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As a parent of kids with a chronic condition, I also find this frustrating. Last year, after my daughter missed 5 excused (with a doctor's note) days, we received a reminder in the mail that she was missing too many days. After 7 days, we got a letter saying that if she missed 3 more we would have to appear before the truancy board. This year my son has missed 8 days already; I'm waiting for my letter. It seems to me the school needs to concentrate on students who have no reason to miss and not those who a legitimate reason to be absent.

I'm not sure what the answer is--jail seems a little extreme but, as a teacher, I know that you can't teach kids who aren't there and with the new evaluations that have been put into place in my state this is going to become even more important.
 
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AndieIsMe is offline AndieIsMe — Advice Member-Moderator Post #8  December 15,2011, 12:23am
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singinggirl wrote :
As a parent of kids with a chronic condition, I also find this frustrating. Last year, after my daughter missed 5 excused (with a doctor's note) days, we received a reminder in the mail that she was missing too many days. After 7 days, we got a letter saying that if she missed 3 more we would have to appear before the truancy board. This year my son has missed 8 days already; I'm waiting for my letter. It seems to me the school needs to concentrate on students who have no reason to miss and not those who a legitimate reason to be absent.

I'm not sure what the answer is--jail seems a little extreme but, as a teacher, I know that you can't teach kids who aren't there and with the new evaluations that have been put into place in my state this is going to become even more important.
If you push for it you might be able to get a 504 or IEP in place that will help with those missed days. Meaning, it will be a legal document that states that your children are allowed to miss days, with a doctors note, and they can't be called into a truancy board.

I had to push REALLY HARD to get my son's IEP in place. It is a stronger document than a 504. But, a 504 can still hold weight for your child throughout their school career.

You might also ask your children's doctor to write a letter stating this for the entire school year. A preemptive strike against any days they can miss during the next year, so to speak. Make it clear that they have XYZ condition and that to ensure their health, missing school days will happen.
 
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Diann1950 is online now Diann1950 Post #9  December 15,2011, 12:18pm
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The IEP is a good document that can provide a legal support for your child, it also helps with providing additional funds for your school to support your child. A 504 plan is also a legal document that doesn't give quite as much protection for your child, and in addition it doesn't come with funding to support the special needs. The one advantage of a 504 is that it makes individuals rather than just the system legally liable for failure to comply with the documents. Each one must be renewed each year to remain legally compliant.
 
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D_Lion is offline D_Lion Post #10  December 17,2011, 7:48am
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How insane.

Proabably the same crowd of politicians who defend "home schooling."

Legal responsibility for the acts of others (children or not) should be reduced, not increased.
 
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