Parents are being fined $500 and facing ARREST if their kids stay home from school – even if they have Covid
PARENTS are being fined up to $500 and face arrest if their kids clock up too many absent days, even when a child tests positive for Covid.
Jason Pratt and his mother Debra were hit by a $439 fine after 28 “unexcused” absences, one of which was the day he had tested positive for the virus.
He is among 246 students who have been accused of “habitual truancy” in the small 33,000-enclave of Manitowoc in Michigan.
The area has seen a sharp rise in the number of families being fined over student absences during the pandemic, despite many students battling with lack of internet access and the impact to their mental health.
In other states, some families are being brought to court as laws require them to keep children in school or face steep penalties.
Sharon Austin claims both her daughters were “straight-A students and now they are failing.”
She was recently brought to court by Pittsburgh Public Schools after her children repeatedly failed to attend online classes over the past year.
Yet she claims her daughters have been prevented from attending because the laptops they were supplied with would not connect them to the virtual learning platform.
“I can’t get into the account,” her daughter Ciara, who dreamed of going to college and becoming a veterinarian, told KDKA.
“The computers won’t let me in. I can’t get to the teachers and say, ‘Hey, I’m here.’”
The school has denied that this is true or that there’s anything wrong with the students’ devices.
“We have provided support and engaged multiple times with this family and have found no problem with the district-issued technology,” the district said in a statement.
“Any problem with connectivity is the result of user error.”
Pittsburgh Controller Michael Lamb argued that taking families to truancy court amid the pandemic cannot be the best course of action.
“We have to find out what’s the real reason for that absenteeism,” Lamb said.
Parents have also argued that the threat of being fined, arrested, or taken to court is only worsening the problems many families are dealing with during the pandemic.
“I think it’s ridiculous, absolutely ridiculous, especially during a pandemic when there’s just too many other factors that are playing into this,” Debra Pratt told The Guardian of her fine.
She said that while her son Jason recovered quickly from coronavirus, he has still struggled with working remotely and it has taken a toll on him emotionally and academically.
Tracie Higgins admitted that there is “no way” she has the means to pay the $439 fine she was also issued by the Manitowoc school district over her son Mark’s repeated absences.
She was sent a warning letter threatening to suspend her driving license if the fine was not paid.
The municipal clerk’s office has also said that a state debt collection agency will be used to follow up on overdue fines.
The city’s assistant attorney Elizabeth Majerus argued that the truancy penalty scheme in the area has been assessed in recent years.
She said that students previously also faced the threat of losing their driving license which could damage future job opportunities.
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Yet parents remain adamant that a more lenient approach must be taken while students struggle through a disrupted learning experience.
“Ya, they are giving the kids an incentive that, ‘OK, if you do nine weeks of school and pass all of your classes the fine goes away,’ but that’s not the point,” Higgins said.
“The point is they shouldn’t have to give these fines out to these kids – especially now.”