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Monday, 13 December, 1999, 13:11 GMT

Truants' parents face jail penalty

Threats of imprisonment have been made against parents of school truants in Detroit, Michigan.

Education authorities across the United States have been stepping up efforts to cut truancy - with jail penalties for parents being employed in a number of states.

In Detroit, over a third of pupils missed more than a month of school last year - a problem which authorities say now demands a radical approach.

In Wayne County, Detroit, 66 parents have been warned that they will be imprisoned for up to 90 days if they do not improve their children's attendance.

"We have to somehow wake people up. Kids belong in school'' said Wayne County prosecutor, George Ward.

"When the years slip away for a six to eight-year-old, you can't retrieve them. We've got to do what we can immediately."

The penalty of imprisonment for parents of truants has been available in Michigan and other states for many years - but until recently has not been applied.

In anti-truancy campaigns elsewhere in the United States, parents have already been jailed for failing to make enough effort to get their children to school.

In Alabama, a parent of a truant served 60 days in jail, while another eight parents have had cases deferred while they make efforts to improve their children's attendance.

And parents of two truanting teenagers in Tennessee spent two days in jail earlier this year.

The shift towards threatening parents with jail in Detroit has been attacked by the American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan.

"The problem here is motivating children, and I don't believe throwing their parents in jail will accomplish that,'' said the ACLU's Kary Morris.

Related to this story:
Schools get Ł500,000 to cut truancy (01 Nov 99 | Education)
Japanese truancy soars (14 Aug 99 | Education)
Warning for truants' parents (30 Sep 99 | Education)

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Education Contents: Features | How the Education Systems Work |