Fining parents for truancy

[manifold]

How about who gives a fuck? If a kid wants to cut class but can still keep up his grades then let him. If not, don't pass him. As far as the cops bullshit, if he breaks the law while cutting class or otherwise, arrest him and charge him.

 

[chanel]

We have compulsory education in the states. Change the law or enforce it. "Who gives a fuck" is not an option.

Oh and most chronically truant students don't maintain
their grades. I suspect that's what's at issue.

 

[lilbug]

Most of us skipped school once in a while but with repeated truancy, there's a problem. Don't schools have parent/teacher conferences anymore...one where the kid can attend and get the to root of why the kid is consistently truant and with a chronic problem, why isn't DFCS involved? There could be any number of reasons for the truancy, an undiagnosed learning disability, bullying at school the kid has told no one about, a problem with an addiction, an issue with a teacher, or problems within the home, none of which are solved with fining.

 

[chanel]

I can only speak for our area, but the sad truth is that CPS (called DYFS in NJ) will not deal with school issues when it comes to teenagers. They've got enough real neglect/abuse
cases with little ones. A 15 year old truant is at the bottom of that urgency list. The bottom line is these parents need to be encouraged to sign their kids out when legally possible. But no one has the balls to do that. And guess what? Maybe a kick in the ass over a hefty fine might be just what many kids need.

 

[spectrumc01]

A better solution would be to reward parents for their childrens attendance and grades along with their gradutaing in the form of tax deductions.

 

[Jitto]

thats unfair.. its not parents' fault..

 

[Cecilie1200]

CONCORD (KCBS) – It could soon cost kids, and parents in Concord upwards of $500 if the teenager continues to cut class.

There’s no question about it, said Mayor Laura Hoffmeister, Concord police have their hands full with truant kids these days.

After a general warning, kids and their parents would be fined $100 after the first offense, $200 after the second, and $500 after the third.

Concord Could Fine Students For Cutting Class « CBS San Francisco

Good idea?

Well, if you hit some of those parents where it actually MATTERS to them, they might start caring about what their kids are doing and do something about it.

I wish I wasn't so negative on the subject, but I once spent six months as the attendance clerk in a middle school here in my city. One of my jobs was calling the parents of students who had unexcused absences, and I swear to God, it was appalling how many of those people did not give a single, solitary shit whether their kids showed up to school or not. I remember vividly a couple of them telling me, in a completely offhand voice, that they hadn't even SEEN the kid in question in a couple of days, and had no idea where they were!

 

[Cecilie1200]

thats unfair.. its not parents' fault..

It's not? Who the hell IS responsible for a minor child behaving badly, if not the people who are SUPPOSED to be raising him and teaching him to be a productive member of society?

My daughter did all manner of stupid things while she was a teenager, and I had a running battle with her on many things, but I promise you, her ass at least showed up to school for as long as I was legally responsible for making her do so.

 

[Jessica Blume]

CONCORD (KCBS) – It could soon cost kids, and parents in Concord upwards of $500 if the teenager continues to cut class.

There’s no question about it, said Mayor Laura Hoffmeister, Concord police have their hands full with truant kids these days.

After a general warning, kids and their parents would be fined $100 after the first offense, $200 after the second, and $500 after the third.

Concord Could Fine Students For Cutting Class « CBS San Francisco

Good idea?

No.

 

[strollingbones]

i dont remember my parents approving of any of the days i ditched school.....as i got older i ditched much more often....you can figure out how to ditch and not be caught...but what became of truant officiers...the ones who would go about and look for kids ditching school.

damn you people are harsh....you cant just write kids off for being kids

 

[Nate]

i dont remember my parents approving of any of the days i ditched school.....as i got older i ditched much more often....you can figure out how to ditch and not be caught...but what became of truant officiers...the ones who would go about and look for kids ditching school.

damn you people are harsh....you cant just write kids off for being kids

Ah, such is life Strolling... It used to be "It takes a village to raise a child" now its "Shut your damn kid up"

 

[chanel]

That's one way to look at it. But I believe the whole "takes a village" philosophy changed how people raise their children. It seems now when a kid gets in trouble, it's always someone else's fault - the school, the police - "society". It's a shame that parents are now being forced to parent their children, but that's the way it is. It's easy to your kid's friend. It's much harder to say "no".

 

[spectrumc01]

"What if the village doesn't want to raise "your" child. If I had wanted to raise children I would have had some." My brother


I had to agree

 

[CitizenPained]

That's one way to look at it. But I believe the whole "takes a village" philosophy changed how people raise their children. It seems now when a kid gets in trouble, it's always someone else's fault - the school, the police - "society". It's a shame that parents are now being forced to parent their children, but that's the way it is. It's easy to your kid's friend. It's much harder to say "no".

"It takes a village" is how things were done not too long ago. It's not that at all. Back in the day, families were close-knit, elderly parents weren't put in nursing homes and kids lived with their parents until they were married... and even later, when that changed, kids could still skip around the block unattended and ride bikes or play baseball and not worry about drive-bys.

 

[DiAnna]

Although the idea is soul satifying, it's not a good idea. Those of us who have raised teenagers to adulthood know that at some point in the early teen years, parental approval takes a back seat to peer approval. Parents can do their best, but unless they can follow their teens from class to class, they ultimately have no control.

I see this being used as a punishment that could land parents in jail, result in the loss of their jobs, economic disaster. Raising a teenager is hard enough without this kind of pressure hanging over them.

 

[chanel]

DiAnna - the article says "warning" then "$100" then upwards to $500 for subsequent offenses. I don't think it will result in anyone going to jail.

Here in NJ, students are only permitted 18 days "unexcused" and then they lose credit for the entire year - regardless of their grades. Anyone who misses more than 18 days can "make up time" on Saturdays. They have to pay teachers to come in on the weekend to babysit. Why should the taxpayers pay ADDITIONAL school taxes just because a kid wants a day off every Monday?

Truancy is not free.

 

[strollingbones]

you cannot tie parents hands when it comes to discipline then fine them for their bratty ass kids......i got a letter one year threatening me with jail cause my son has missed so much school.. said if he missed 5 more day ....i would go to jail....he was upset....i told him fuck it...we got 4 more days to miss...

 

[strollingbones]

he had missed school to go on vacation with the family......oddly he was not allowed to do any extra credit work about where we traveled too.....

 

[Dont Taz Me Bro]

DiAnna - the article says "warning" then "$100" then upwards to $500 for subsequent offenses. I don't think it will result in anyone going to jail.

What do you think happens if they don't pay it?

 

[Dont Taz Me Bro]

Forced use is almost always a horrible idea.

Better the little miscreants skip out than be disruptions in the classrooms.

My thoughts exactly and this is the problem with compulsory education. Why force habitually truant kids to be there? These aren't the kids who are well behaved and trying to learn. Forcing them to be there will only add to the chaos that is a public school because they'll just misbehave and become a distraction to everyone else.

This idea that we have to forcibly educate every child has to be thrown out the window. The troublemakers are dragging down the quality of education, they create a hostile environment for the teachers and the other kids, and their parents don't give a damn one way or the other. Get them out of there and you'll see a lot of troubled schools clean up rather quickly.