Dear Ms Shapiro and fellow Sen Education Committee members,
In an address to Sen Edu Committee
Presently, the bill below (HB 316) Texas Education Statute 25. is nothing more than a railroad for the Nueces County JP Courts. It is unconstitutional, discriminatory, illegal and injurious to CCISD Families..
What is wrong with the bill?
25.093. PARENT CONTRIBUTING TO NONATTENDANCE
§ 25.095. WARNING NOTICES. (a) A school district or
open-enrollment charter school shall notify a student's parent in writing at the beginning of the school year that if the student is absent from school on 10 or more days or parts of days within a six-month period in the same school year or on three or more days or parts of days within a four-week period:
(1) the student's parent is subject to prosecution under Section
25.093;
In a nutshell if the student is absent unexcused for the given criteria and the District sends out handbooks at the beginning of the year then the parent is guilty of Parent Contributing to Non Attendance.
25.095 b does say
A school district shall notify a student's parent if the student has been absent from school, without excuse under Section 25.087, on three days or parts of days within a four-week period.
Notice the parts of days added and delineates from the original intent of the law.
Under 25.093 the wording only refers to days absent (not parts of days or tardies).
The fallacy of this law is that it does not differentiate between a student that is absent and a student that is skipping or tardy.An absent student is one who does not arrive at school in the morning and is absent for the WHOLE Day. The student was never on campus. The Parent is responsible for the student getting to school.
Once the student is counted present in the morning, the student is in the custody of the School. If the student is tardy of skios (on campus or off campus) this happens on the watch of the school. This is also a security issue as well; there is no excuse for students coming and going outside of the lunch period and it is imperative that attendance irregularities be dealt with within 24 hours. This is easily done with our modern technology.
Instead, what we are seeing is the Attendance Officers documenting the absences as they accumulate and filing on the Parent and student when the number of absences are achieved.
Another fallacy resides in the Parental notification outreach process. There is parts of the law that dictate certain steps but if these steps are disregarded this is not a defense to the prosecution.
Will you please look into these issues and help get some of these loopholes mended and the fallacial premises corrected.
I will send some more suggested amendment areas from my experiences; as well as those of others who, I have witnessed get locked up and fleeced just because the JP position has accumulated too much power and the Little people have no recourse. I ask that you help us out with fixing this law in the Interest of Justice.
Respectfully,
Anton S Haley
--
Kenedeno & Associates
Anonymous Email
"Yeah!!, finally someone is listening to us (the parents). Those JP's and the attendance ofcrs do nothing but discourage (not encourage) students to drop out, then they wonder why there are big numbers of drop outs. Sending students to jail is not the answer, kids get discouraged w/the outrageous fines and community services assessed to them, so many will just drop out. It is ridiculous, don't these JP's realize that such a record can greatly affect a student trying to get into college?"
Dear Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, CCISD, Legislators & South Texas JudiciaryTexas Education Code CHAPTER 25. ADMISSION, TRANSFER, AND ATTENDANCE
When a parent takes his child to school and he arrives on time
(he becomes a student under the Jurisdiction of the school
administration); the child is in the custody of the school.
While the child is on school grounds he is subject to the rules of the
school as the school is subject to the custodial responsibility.
Anything that happens during the day is under the school's watch.
If the student is absent during the middle of the day who's watch is it under?
If the child is tardy or walking the halls; who's watch is it?
However, when the student is tardy or skipping during the middle
periods, the school admin, the attendance clerk and the truancy officer
engage themselves. They begin the documentation of the "truant events".
There is a computer that will call to inform the household that the
"student was absent one or more periods today". Keep in mind the
automated system is readily discounted by the administration when they
cannot find the reason it called. That is when the parent contacts the
school to inquire to specifically which class was the child absent or
tardy, why was the machine reporting the child absent?
Now all of this said kids roaming the halls, tardy and absent is being allowed by who?
Who's custody did the parents release the child into?
But, once the truant events add up as they are allowed; the child and
the parents are charged with truancy and adult contributing to truancy
respectively. That means for the child an automatic slam dunk $500
ching ching, the parent slam dunked and another $500 ching ching and
then the other parent $500 ching ching. Now tell me how that is right
and just?
I have every right and every reason to write about this injustice. And I do have an angle, it is called EQUAL JUSTICE for allIn an agressive collateral campaign in advocacy of South Texas as a Whole; the issue of Education must be for the children (our future). I submit in good faith my "TWO CENTS" (Dos Centavos).
Legislation - Students need to be able to earn and get paid weekly. WIA JOB Grants attendance selective railroading must cease immediately. It is a racket of cushy JOBS and truant officers who cannot discourage even the skipping in the middle of the school day.
I remember MR Gonzalez (GONZO) at Carroll High School back in the days of punch card bubble in "chad like" attendance cards. Student office workers picked up the cards every period and they were processed immediately. Any irregularities were addressed AND Gonzo, Mr Lyons & Mr Mon were on patrol with the cutting edge in technology Walkie Talkies. Not one other school in CCISD had them at that time. Janitors were the security.
My point is where is the lag and why now that this area has been significantly beefed up.
How are these kids tardy or hiding out or coming and going without someone noticing. Then they file against the parent for contributing to truancy and the student is fined and the parent has no defense even if there was never any communication from the district informing the parent. No attorney is provided as the crime is punishable by fine only. WATT about the people who cant pay? I have watched JAG lock students and parents up. 1 student $500, 2 Parents $500 each equals $1500. Community Service is an option but is it worth the association with hardened Juveniles. If there is a chance of being jailed an attorney must be provided. Any appeal is denied and handed back without signature of Court. There is no transcript of the proceedings so strong arm tactics are practiced and rules are ignored to get rich off of the poor. quality assurance Judiciary Evolution incomplete work in progress
Justice of the peace courts have jurisdiction over criminal offenses that are punishable by fine only, and over civil cases in which the amount in controversy is small (not more than $5,000 in 1995).
.
Remember the technique used at Miller?
Change Grades?
Modify Attendance records?
That is how they do it at CCISD.
My son failed the 7th Grade (2004-2005) and then failed in Summer School yet the Administrators Promoted him to the 8th Grade, The same thing for the 8th Grade at Cullen Middle School. However he performed well at SLGC Campus which is a rigid structured high discipline school. This school should be the model. It works.
Teach the test?
Make the numbers fit by rearranging the terminology?
Having certain students (who are at risk of not passing the TAKS) categorized in a way so their scores will not figure in the average.
Selectively classifying and targeting of certain students to enter the "revolving door" of our local legally untrained Justices of the Peace for tardies and truancy violations. And then no attorney to represent the kids so they are railroaded. Then when they cannot come up with the dinero they take the kids from the classroom in handcuffs and threaten to lock em up and do lock some of them up even though these violations are punishable by fine only. The JP has not the legal right or training to incarcerate a child or his parents for fine only violations.
Justice of the peace courts have jurisdiction over criminal offenses that are punishable by fine only, and over civil cases in which the amount in controversy is small (not more than $5,000 in 1995).
So the attendance issue is all about the money. If you can classify the student in a way to get paid then that is what they are told to do.
--
Kenedeno & Associates
1 comment:
Yes,yes,yes! Finally somebody has said it out loud! I have been looking on my computer for any one person who see's this without blinds. I have done everything within my power to make my sons understand that an education is a necessary piece of paper and without that piece of paper, they will experience a hard way of life. They have chosen to not take my advice and I have found myself in court as of late, answering to the judge as if I were an unfit mother. And because my boys are apparently oblivious to the end result, I now have fines I cannot pay and community service to serve while my boys are running around doing God knows what or taking it easy at home playing games or doing whatever they'd like. WTF!?! Still, what can be done when your cries of injustice falls upon deaf ears?
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