I was served with court papers due that were filed against me for child neglect because my daughter has a truancy issue. The papers say they are requesting the child be made ward of the court. I am confused because, I never received notice of a truancy issue with my daughter. I spoke to the states attorney to see if we could avoid going to court and settle this matter. She told me that I never showed up to the truancy, but could not confirm with me when and how I was informed of the meeting. So it looks to them like I just skipped out on it. I explaned to her that my daughter did struggle with going to school before we moved and it was a fight to get her there. She was being teased by alot of the kids and would get anxiety over going to school. Since we have moved and she is at a new school (in the same district) her attendance has improved. SHe has only missed for her grandmas funeral and for head lice in which she was sent home by the school for. She has had a few tardies due to missing the bus, but not many! The states attorney told me that she was ust going for a supervision mmatter and they would monitor her for the next year and then drop the case. However when I went to my first court appearance today the judge said to the states attorney "we are not dealing with a loss of parental rights here due to truancy right?" and she said "possibly" I was taken back by that and my thought on representing myself changed. So now I am wondering do I need an attorney, obviously I do not want to lose custody of my daughter over this! I have never had any issues like this in the past. I have 4 kids who are all well cared for and loved! Also, is it worth it to continue to call the states attorney and plead for her to drop this case and work out an agreement with me? Is that something she is even able to do? This whole thing is making me sick and I cannot afford an attorney. I am not sure what to do?
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11 year old truancy issue Please Help!
- Thread Starter jewel36
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She missed 11 days from the beginning of the year till December with 22 tardies. Since she has been at her new school December till now she has missed 3 days with 4 tardies. The 3 days were due to her grandmas funeral. She has been sent home 9 days by the school for a medical condition.
army judge
Super Moderator
How old is your daughter?
Is she 11 years old or is this an 11 year old matter?
You might consider home schooling her.
Or, put her in a non-traditional academic setting.
If she is at least 16 years old, you might want to consider enrolling her in a GED program.
Some students do well in that setting.
A GED equals a high school diploma for most students.
If she is bright enough (& old enough), you can enroll her directly into a community college program.
A high school diploma isn't required to enroll into a community college.
That's a naughty little secret the public schools don't want widely known.
Is she 11 years old or is this an 11 year old matter?
You might consider home schooling her.
Or, put her in a non-traditional academic setting.
If she is at least 16 years old, you might want to consider enrolling her in a GED program.
Some students do well in that setting.
A GED equals a high school diploma for most students.
If she is bright enough (& old enough), you can enroll her directly into a community college program.
A high school diploma isn't required to enroll into a community college.
That's a naughty little secret the public schools don't want widely known.
She is 11 in the 5th grade. I did homeschool her in the 3rd grade because she hated going to school. She likes school now that she is in a new school. Nobody bullies her at the school she is at, they obviously have a great handle on that. I nderstand the importance of truancy, but I think as much as they crack down on that schools should crack down on bullying and teasing. I think if that were better controlled alot of truancy issues would resolve. They like to blame the parents, in this case it was difficult to make my daughter go to school when she was acting like she was in so much pain, later to find out it was because of the teasing.
Are those 9 days part of the 11 that she missed at the former school, or has the new school sent her home 9 times?
If the new school sent her home 9 days, how many times did the former school send her home for the medical condition?
What is the medical condition?
Is she being treated for it?
How many days did she miss school last year?
How late is she when she is tardy?
Your answers to those questions may help clarify your situation. Truthfully, chronic truancy is defined as 10% unexcused absences in Illinois, and districts must be vigilant about communicating with the parent in an attempt to resolve the problem. I've never heard of a truancy hearing after absences of only 10%.
Proserpina
Moderator
In all honesty, it's the parent's role to teach the child coping skills.
Most kids get teased at school at some point. Many are downright bullied. But what is critical is how they learn to deal with it.
Counseling can help, and so can parenting classes for the parents.
Most kids get teased at school at some point. Many are downright bullied. But what is critical is how they learn to deal with it.
Counseling can help, and so can parenting classes for the parents.
theretoo
New Member
I am in a similar situation with my 14 year old son. I requested testing for Special Ed, due to his depression. He was found to eligible for Special Ed classes at school due to his depression/anxiety. He is going into High School this year, and I am hoping that the change in schools and the Special Ed classes will help bring him up to par with his grades and attendance. He has an IEP now and part of that IEP is to improve his attendance concerns. Moving forward, we hope we are on the right track for him anyway. I kept getting the truancy notices and I refused to attend the school's truancy meeting in regards to my son, because they had not yet tested him for Special Ed assistance. I kept telling the staff at the school that my son has a disability, and indeed, he does, and qualifies for Special Ed services, but they kept sending the truancy letters. He is on meds, the whole nine yards. The schools have a terrible time handling one size fits all comulsory attendance policies and kids with disabilities like depression. They just don't seem to know what to do about it, but I refused to entertain the idea of any truancy meetings with the school until we discussed their accomodations for his known, and school tested disability and approval for Special Ed services.
Proserpina
Moderator
Your refusing to attend the meetings is a huge mistake.
Seriously. Your entire credibility as a concerned parent may have just been destroyed. I'm not judging you - but I've seen this happen over and over and over again.
The school considers a concerned parent one who goes out of their way to cooperate, and not one who basically holds the school hostage.
(Which is what you're essentially doing - refusing to attend the truancy meetings unless you get your way).
Seriously. Your entire credibility as a concerned parent may have just been destroyed. I'm not judging you - but I've seen this happen over and over and over again.
The school considers a concerned parent one who goes out of their way to cooperate, and not one who basically holds the school hostage.
(Which is what you're essentially doing - refusing to attend the truancy meetings unless you get your way).
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