I was just browsing news causally and I came across this shocking news. if your child has miss 15 days of school in 3 months time period, parents will be going to jail for 2 months! California state has recently strict truancy bill earlier this year (2011) and few parents already have spent time in jail. California is not the only one have such a strict rules, Alabama, Texas, North Carolina and now Florida state is implementing such strict rules.
I am afraid that more US states to follow. What does that mean for homeschooling families? Make sure you are not truant, when you file PSA or go through charter school or public school independent program. Read this article below;
“Florida law says parents of children under 16 who let their kids miss 15 days of school within three months can be sent to jail for up to two months as punishment. The Florida Sun-Sentinel reports that Palm Beach prosecutors say the two-month jail sentence will be a last resort, after government and nonprofit workers try to fix whatever problem is keeping parents from getting their kids to school.
About a dozen Baltimore parents were sent to prison for their kids’ truancy in 2011, the Baltimore Sun reported in April. (In 2010, no Baltimore parents were jailed.) After California adopted a strict anti-truancy bill earlier this year, at least five parents in Orange County were sent to jail for the crime, according to the local CBS affiliate. Judges in Alabama, Texas, and North Carolina and other states have also used truancy laws to send offending parents to jail.
Earlier this year, the NAACP sued a Pennsylvania school district for levying what it claimed were illegal fines of thousands of dollars on truant students and their parents. Lenora Hummel, above, was fined $8,000 after her son and daughter stopped going to school because they said they were bullied and harassed by other students.”
I personally think, 2 months of jail for parents is bit overboard. Perhaps, trying to find out case by case to see why parents or kids might have failed going to school. It could be health or financial reason as right now so many families seems to be struggling.
If you are homeschooling parents, that does not mean you are immune, sometimes charters school or public school independent study program also have very strict guideline as school going parents so vigilant to make sure you’re not truant. If you are going to be for health or some un forseen reason, you may want to work to find a proper solution. This is truly a irony as one can recall, Ferris Buller was shown very hip and cool for knowingly missing the school, while reality is much different. Knowing your own state laws regarding schooling can help all parents, regardless of using private, public or homeschooling methods.
You might be interested in;
Suddenly Homeschooling: A Quick-Start Guide to Legally Homeschool in 2 Weeks
Source: Yahoo news