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Virginia Schools Too Strict Over Tardiness, Say Parents
Parents in the Loudoun school district are facing misdemeanor charges if their children are habitually even a few minutes late.
Officials in Virginia’s Loudoun school district say they’re simply doing what’s necessary to protect kids, while parents say that the demands of real life means kids will be late occasionally — and that it’s certainly not a Class 3 misdemeanor.
“This is against the peace and dignity of the Commonwealth of the Virginia,” say summonses given to parents charged with too many school tardies, a Class 3 misdemeanor, writes the Washington Post.
While Virginia law doesn’t explicitly deal with tardiness, a growing number of Loudoun parents say that county bureaucrats have been far too heavy-handed in their effort to rein in late arrivals.
Wayde Byard, spokesman for Loudoun County Public Schools, said:
“It’s not just trying to meddle in someone’s affairs or dictate how someone raises their child.
“It’s a child welfare issue, basically.”
The sheriff’s office said that there are dozens of Loudoun families summoned to court each year for attendance violations. However, school records say that of most tardies were for three minutes or less.
Amy Denicore, a mother of Loudoun children and regular volunteer at the school, said:
“Punctuality is important, but it’s not the end-all be-all.
“It’s not my goal that the kids are late, but my goal is that they arrive to school well-fed, ready to learn and comfortable in their skin.”
School officials say that tardiness wastes time for the entire classes.
Anne Lewis, Loudoun’s director of student services, said:
“Everything kind of stops for a few minutes and you have to reacclimate students into the classroom activities. That’s a problem.”
Principals in the district are compelled to refer families to one of the county’s five truancy officers, officials say.
“There’s some leeway in terms of how many tardies, but it has to be a good number,” Lewis said.
If parents refuse to work with the truancy officer, then they may have to face the county’s juvenile and domestic relations district court. Two to three parents per month are issued with serves attendance-related court summons, says a spokesman.
These Class 3 misdemeanors can bring a fine of up to $500. If that fee is not paid, or the situation doesn’t improve, parents, like Loudoun mother Maureen Blake, could face jail.
Blake was arrested and charged with “contributing to the delinquency of her minor children by causing them to be habitually late to school,” according to court documents.
She now faces a Class 1 misdemeanor that can carry a maximum of 12 months in jail, writes the Washington Post.
Judith Browne Dianis, co-director of Advancement Project, a civil rights organization that has advocated against harsh school discipline, said:
“Punitive discipline leads to a higher dropout rate, more hostility in schools, it leads to kids disengaging from learning and it alienates parents.
“It is counter to everything that we know should be done.”
Tuesday
February 14th, 2012
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Comments
While Virginia law doesn’t explicitly deal with tardiness, a growing number of Loudoun parents say that county bureaucrats have been far too heavy-handed in their effort to rein in late arrivals.
Of course when little precious then can’t read or can’t count fingers, these same parents who thought the “beurocracts” were just too tough will be blaming them for not educating the kids properly.
i like how you focus on education but dont never argue just comment( sicke do it but not in this case)
These summonses aren’t being sent to parents whose kids make it late to school once or twice, but come now! If your ‘real life” makes it a difficulty to get your child to school on time so many times they send out a summons, you need to make a change to your real life to put more priority on your kids.
“it isn’t my fault” “my child didn’t reallly do anything wrong” “your making a big deal out of nothing.”
these kinds of excuses for stuff like this are reasons why teachers like myself are very wary of things like parent trigger laws
Your saying your not “tired” of all the disrespect,rude,lude treatment you get in the classroom that truly is disruptive to you and the other students and you hadn’t rather address that concern than kids who are late. Where are your priorities or have you just given up on that real problem in today’s classrooms. Admit it, it’s terrible.
or you could making excuses
Its the same issue
whats the same issue can u please specify
the disrespect, distuptions, and whatever concerned and tired parent said schools should worry more about. Those are the same as the chronic tardiness. It is all disrespect and all a thumbing the nose at education. Usually its the same kids. Its the same problem.
I think this is the first time all of us are on agreement over an issue! Holy cow, we should commemorate this somehow.
But seriously, I love how the parents are complaining cause the tardiness is just three minutes or less! Like it disrupts a class less because it’s just three minutes! There really aught to be a rule that if you’re even a minute late you can’t come to class.
How, Ms. Amy Denicore, does being late for school aid your children in reaching the goals you set -or the one goal, presuming your goal resembles Gaul- of arriving at school ‘well-fed, ready to learn, and comfortable in their skin’?
Are the children in question unusually slow eaters or demanders of food requiring lengthy preparation? Does either dawdling or rushing help prepare them for learning? Do your children require extended soothing before setting out for school?
The children in question are part of a community the moment they are enrolled in school. That community operates on a time-clock in order to structure the academic day; simple courtesy demands on-time arrival as a matter of course.
If the times of arrival are too difficult to meet, then home-school, Ms. Denicore, where you can set your own schedule without disrupting others’ schedules.
Has respect for others’ time a lesser value than the amorphous and smacking-of-smugness goal of comfort in one’s own skin? Does being well-fed preclude respect for others’ time? Does disrupting others’ preparation for learning in the classroom give the interrupter a boost in readiness to learn?
My sympathies to the staff of Loudon School District, if the excuses they habitually hear are no more than variations on the self-serving, inane argument presented by Ms. Dencore.
Very well put, Jeannette.
Hmmm. What a lynch mob. I have known a lot of students who are always on time and in their seats, then don’t care enough to try. They get bad grades, but they are on time. All of these people are considered just fine. Acceptable even. I have also known students who have trouble getting places on time for any number of reasons, but when they get there, they work as hard or harder than anyone, and they get good grades in school. Then they are told that none of that matters because they are late, and it wastes the time of the people who don’t even want to be there anyway. It has always bothered me, much the same way as people who arrive at someone’s home early for engagement do. I am a Scout leader, and when I hold meetings, I tell people when the meeting is, but I refuse to start until everyone is there. If you cut someone’s opportunities short because they are off by a few minutes, are you really focusing on what’s important? Or on just punching a clock?
John, if you wait to start class until everyone is there, aren’t you shortchanging students who made an effort to get there on time and are prepared to learn? Classtime isn’t a scout meeting. The beginning and end of a class are strictly circumscribed and can’t be extended by a few minutes if you happen to be running a bit behind. This is a zero-sum game. The time you take to accomodate latecomers, is the time you take from those who show up on schedule. If I had to choose who should get more consideration, I’ll go with those who respect the clock and their teachers and classmates without question.
what are you saying you sir should be focusing more on the health of the students or something that will benefit the students not something like this, because this is like a mouse compared to an elefhant.
( i dont mean to insult u or someone else but there are other things more important then this please take this as a warning to change your way of thinking)
The penalty for tardiness is not being held against the student but against the parent. The parents do not like being responsible for getting their children to the school on time. It is reasonable to expect the parents to get their children to school on time.
“If parents refuse to work with the truancy officer, then they may have to face the county’s juvenile and domestic relations district court. Two to three parents per month are issued with serves attendance-related court summons, says a spokesman.” ( from the article)
Fundamentally,….Behind every government K-12 teacher and principal in this nation stand armed police to enforce the will of the government.
“The will of the government” for students to show up on time for class. Oh my, someone call George Orwell!
You most certainly must be one not to complain about bullying, test scores, etc etc. Because the education police state should be able to do everything even when the kids aren’t there right?
there are other stuff more important then fighting for tardienes like gangs or dug problems. fighting for a mideameanor tardie is like fighting for a mideamenor for not bringing a pencil.
we should be focusing on the health of the students instead of this.
(CAN SOMEONE REPLY)
Juan please read post under all the other stories on this site. There is a distrust of public teachers overall for the acts of few. Furthermore, we ask schools to solve every societal issue that comes down the pike; bullying, poverty, and health. Then blame them for not being able to educate our kids. What other job has that job description, especially when you consider most teachers make far less than other college graduates. Yes, I know it was their choice, but I think they wanted to go into education to help kids, not solve all of societies issues and get called out for every bad apple in the profession. So you see in order to fix the world the schools could use a little help from home, such as getting your kid to school on time!
my friend bogdan says this is ……..
see you should be focusing on something else
This kind of thing is an epidemic in Virginia, Not only are schools bullying parents, but local prosecutors and juvenile courts are complicit. The prosecutors bring unsustainable charges and the courts hold hearings in secret so other parents don’t know that they’re not alone. We are gathering information through the virginia freedom of information act, some of which can be found on our website at http://pisste.org. we also have a petition at change.org here: https://www.change.org/petitions/staunton-city-schools-stop-unjustified-prosecutions-of-parents-for-truancy#