Texas Students Thrown in Jail for Days ... as Punishment for Missing School?

[xchrom]

http://www.alternet.org/texas-truancy



School tardiness and absences come at a high cost in Dallas, Texas. Gone are the days of detention and writing lines on the chalkboard; now students are fined, even jailed.

The enforcement of the state’s truancy laws, which were strengthened substantially in 2003, have led to a range of abuses, according to a complaint filed Wednesday with the U.S. Department of Justice:

* Students have been taken out of school in handcuffs, held in jail for days at a time, and fines have totaled more than $1,000 for students who miss more than 10 days of school.

* The students who are hauled into court to face truancy or lateness charges are not provided with legal counsel. The only lawyers in the courtroom are the judge and a member of the district attorney’s office, unless the student’s family can afford their own representation.

* Defendants are charged court fees even if they prevail in fighting the accusations, discouraging people from exercising their right to a full hearing.

[Sanity Claws]

1. Private prisons?

This is a way to throw business to private prisons. Is that what's going on? Or is it just lack of compassion to find out what's going on in a child's life?

[Frustratedlady]

2. That was my first thought, as well. Great minds and all that jazz. eom

[Mnemosyne]

3. Pennsylvania redeux. nt