** NEED HELP (Advice) please read ***

[Dr. HK]

OK not even where to start. My wife received a call from the Cleveland county district attorney (DA) today. Apparently because our kids are late to school by a few minutes pretty frequently we were reported to the DA. No where in the hand book does it state that because of tardiness will you be reported. It only stated a 90% attendance policy. I am livid.

We are going to speak to the Principle today need some good talking points. In a nutshell when we drop the kids off there must be at least 50 cars trying to drop their kids off. So they are also late as well. Are we the only one's being targeted? Also this year the school starts 20 minutes earlier to account for snow days which we have used zero this year. Instead of extending the days they made the day start earlier. Also when the kids get to school they all meet in the cafeteria so they are not even really learning anything for the first 10-15 minutes of school.

ok well for those that state well just get them there earlier. It is easier said than done. I work 8am-5pm, my wife works 6:45 PM - 7:15 AM. The kids start at 7:50 AM. So my wife works at Children's hospital and we live in Norman.

please help. Sorry for the long run on sentences I am just livid. :finger:

 

[RidgeHunter]

Wow. Reported to the DA for tardiness? Seems a bit much. Did the school admins even contact you directly about this issue first before sicking the DA on you?

How late are we talking, here?

 

[Fyrtwuck]

Truancy has gotten far more serious than it used to be. Somewhere in state law it requires a certain amount of absences to be reported to the DA and charges can be filed for children not attending school.

I didn't know anything about this either till I was sent by the Sheriff I was working for at the time to go to the northern part of the state to pick up a mother who was in another jail that had a warrant put out on her for "Failure to require children attend school", and transport her back. She had a $1000.00 release bond.

 

[Dr. HK]

No no prior contact from the school what so ever. We found out about this because some B&*^&*^H from the DA office called us stating that they will seek criminal prosecution if we dont get our kids on-time to school. Then my wife started asking questions and was talked very rudely to.

 

[Dr. HK]

Tardiness and truancy is totally different. We are late but maybe 2-7 minutes.

 

[sanjuro893]

What did they report you for? Truancy? Child abuse? Have you tried to talk to the DA's office yet to see what they say about it? I swear, these schools nowadays are just chock FULL of self-important bureaucratic administrators with nothing better to do than to make rules for the sake of making rules. I'd have that pencil neck principal hanging from a ceiling fan with his own neck tie just so he'd have something JUSTIFIED to report to the DA. (That's not advice, try to refrain from damaging the school personnel if you can.

 

[sanjuro893]

Oops, got my questions answered while typing.

 

[BadgeBunny]

I am not sure what to tell you but a little piece of motherly advice -- no matter how mad you are DO NOT lose your cool at the school. Calm, cool and collected is the demeanor for today. You are there to gather facts and names. Take a notebook and USE it. Take everyone's name you talk to and what they say to you. DO NOT share information with them -- again you are there to gather information to use on your behalf, not give them information they may twist around later to use against you.

Ask them to point out in the school handbook where "tardiness" equals "truancy". Don't get smug if they can't, but if they can then thank them and ask them how you can accomplish this with the long lines dropping kids off every morning.

Take that notebook from above and start documenting what time your wife pulls up in front of the school and what time she actually is able to drop the kids off at the door. You will need it if you wind up in court.

Wish I had more. Good luck.

 

[saddlebum]

private school,you will never win with the government bureaucracy

 

[Cohiba]

I may be remiss on this but here goes. Look in your child's school handbook or call the Superintendent's office....so many tardies equal an absence. So many absent days use to equal...repeat the grade level over or summer school.

Calling the D.A.....hmmm, is there more to the story than you're telling us?

Cohiba