All In A School Day

School absenteeism can be a problem. Most school districts here have mandatory policy that more than 10 days absence without a doctor's excuse means automatic failure for the year. But some students miss chronically because they do not care whether they pass their classes or not. Some have learning problems that prevent them from earning passing grades. Still, a school can not exist with stability if it allows too many student absences.
One strategy some school systems use to cut back on truancy or absences is to hold the parent accountable. One way is to have the city DA summon the parents for a meeting concerning their children's' absence from school.
But in Knox County, Tennessee that strategy didn't seem to work well last week. Uh...because...too many of the parents failed to show up for the meeting. Prosecutors had summoned parents of repeatedly truant children to attend the meeting to explain the law concerning excessive school absences. An amazing 4 of 10 parents summoned failed to show up. And this with the knowledge that state law allows prosecutors to hold parents accountable for their children's school absences.
After the no show incident the Knox County sheriff arrested 19 no show parents whose kids had more than 10 unexcused absence from school. Those parents found guilty can be sentenced to a year in jail. ":We have only just begun," said District Attorney Randy Nichols. "We mean this. I don't know how else to say it. They are going to send their children to school."
Hmmmmmmmm Maybe those parents are the ones in need of school. They probably never learned how to tell time. No one could question the school systems motives in trying to get those kids to school on time. But just as that policy was being implemented a school employee did something far less noble to a student.
As a result, the West Linn Wilsonville, Oregon school district agreed to pay parent Sally Miller, who believes her child should be in school, a $10,000 damage judgment. It seems that Sally's 8 year old came home form school last week with more than homework assignments. The child came home with "next to nothing" on his head, said Sally. A school employee had given the boy an impromptu and badly done haircut after being offended by the child's "messy hair". Sally says she keeps her boy's hair neat, and that she may not have had the money for this month's haircut, her little one's hair should not have been an issue. "First I was shocked, " said sally. "then I was embarrassed that I didn't have the money to get him a haircut. And then I was mad. I thought, What nerve. How invasive." School Superintendent says the employee was wrong to cut the boy's hair and that the school insurance company will send mom Sally a $10,000 compensatory check.
Hmmmmmmm Maybe Sally should just keep her son home, like the other truant parents do.