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Adoptive Mom Wrongly Charged With Neglect Thanks To Absurdly Rigid Truancy Laws
Smith asked Peter Young, the principal of Brent Elementary School on Capitol Hill, if this trip could be considered an emergency, if she could put Ziggy on a study plan while they were gone…
She got a study plan, lugged along a six-inch-high pile of homework and even hired a tutor in Mongolia to keep Ziggy up on his studies.
Smith covered all the bases, which is why she was shocked to receive a summons to appear in court on charges of criminal neglect for Ziggy’s absence. Even more outlandish, the summons came a full year and a half after their trip to Mongolia took place. The charges were eventually dropped, but not before several court appearances and an investigation took place. Despite how insane this whole thing sounds, a spokesperson for the school district says they stand by the way the case was handled.
“What I believe is most important to emphasize here is why these protocols exist in the first place, which is to protect children,†Salmanowitz said. “It is explicit for a reason — that reason being that no matter why the absence, someone is looking out to make sure the child is safe.â€
He’s right: someone should always be looking out to make sure these kids are safe, and I’m sure there are people who commit heinous abuses that would otherwise go unnoticed if not for truancy laws that require educators to find out where their students are. This was not one of those cases, though. Ziggy had been back in school for two months when his prinicipal signed the truancy referral. He wasn’t in danger and his school knew it.