It”s the first day of school. Do you know where your child is?
City and county students returned to school today — or at least they should have, according to the state”s Compulsory School Attendance Law.
Under the guidelines, all children who will be 6-16 years of age by Sept. 1 must be enrolled in public, private or home school. Children who will be 5 years old on or before Sept. 1 must be enrolled in a full-day kindergarten.
Schools are required to report five unexplained absences to the county”s school attendance officers. The first course of action is usually a letter to the parents. A final notice is sent after 10 unexplained absences. At 12 unexplained absences, schools are required to file charges.
The penalties for non-enrollment and truancy can be steep: As much as a $345 fine and possible jail time for the parents, and probation or detention at the Lowndes County Juvenile Detention Center for the student.
Last year, said School Attendance Officer Jewel Edwards, she and her colleagues handled approximately 3,144 referrals — 52 which resulted in Youth Court petitions, and 12 which ended in Justice Court.
It”s a problem that seems to be getting worse every year, Edwards said. Parents are younger. Some don”t see the importance of education. Some think lower-level grades, like kindergarten, either don”t count or aren”t necessary.
“They don”t realize that”s the foundation for everything else they will learn in school,” Edwards said. “It”s an environmental issue.”
Sometimes though, in the course of an investigation, she unravels other reasons for a child”s absence, and she tries to help.
When a mother told Edwards she kept her child out of school because she couldn”t afford the uniform, Edwards connected her with community resources to meet that need.
Another mother told her she hadn”t enrolled her children in school because she was homeless and couldn”t show proof of residence. Edwards informed her that homeless children cannot legally be denied entry to school, and she connected her with the county”s homeless liaison.
Edwards said because she and the county”s other two school attendance officers cannot be everywhere, they rely heavily on the schools and concerned citizens to make sure every school-age child is in the classroom during school hours.
“We get calls, and citizens are very good about that,” Edwards said. “If a child isn”t going to school, we go out and investigate.”
The Compulsory School Attendance Law applies to home school students, as well. Parents who plan to home school their children must complete a certificate of enrollment card before Sept. 15.
For questions or concerns, please contact school attendance officers Jewel Edwards at 662-328-1119, Polly Dentry at 662-241-7180 or Sally Tate at 662-241-4225.
Carmen K. Sisson is the former news editor at The Dispatch.
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