School Cracks Down on Parents
Tickets Issued When Students Miss Mandatory Program
Reuters , Friday, December 13, 2002
HOUSTON, Dec. 12 -- The parents of students at a Houston middle school who
tell teachers the dog ate their homework or the cat ripped it up are getting
an unusual response: Tell it to the judge.
At Houston's North Shore Middle School, the parents of students who
habitually fail to complete their homework and miss a mandatory after-school
program are being summoned to court, school officials said today. The
school this week issued 48 misdemeanor criminal citations, similar in
severity to a traffic ticket, to those students' parents. Each ticket,
which could have yielded a fine of up to $185, required parents to appear on
Wednesday before Harris County Justice of the Peace Mike Parrott.
Parrott did not fine anyone, but used the session to set an example and
explain the importance of finishing schoolwork, he said. Galena Park
Independent School District spokeswoman Staci Stanfield said the tickets
actually are for failing to attend the mandatory after-school program for
habitual homework offenders. "We are issuing citations because students are
not attending school. We are not issuing citations for not doing homework,"
Stanfield said.
Parrott said even though it is a truancy violation being ticketed, the
purpose of bringing the charges in conjunction with the after-school program
is to make sure students complete their assignments. Students are supposed
to finish the missing homework at the after-school session, which is
considered part of the regular school day and subject to truancy laws under
the Texas Education Code, he said. Students are referred to the program by
their teachers.
Stanfield said the program, unique to North Shore Middle School, was
explained to parents at the start of the school year. Before the citations
are issued, parents are supposed to have been notified by letter that their
child was required to attend the after-school session. Parrott said a lot
of parents did not get the letter because the students were entrusted with
taking the notices home.
Since Texas school districts are their own separate taxing entities, they
have powers not unlike a county or city government, such as the right to
issue criminal citations. As for whether he will be issuing fines when
cases are referred to him in the future, Parrott said, "There is no doubt,
the next time up."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A48164-2002Dec12.html
