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PARENTS GO TO JAIL WHEN KIDS DON'T GO TO SCHOOL

Two parents will spend this weekend in the Harford County Detention Center for failing to send their children to school during the last school year. Judge Victor Butanis sentenced Robyn Batts to serve two days in jail and Bobbie Shannon to three days in jail to be served immediately. The cases were brought as part of a joint initiative between Harford County Public Schools and the Harford County State's Attorney's Office to hold parents responsible quickly when their children are repeatedly absent from school.

"It is very important for the criminal prosecutor to be working closely with the schools on this problem," said State's Attorney Joe Cassilly, "because once these children fall behind their peers they drop out of school. Then they are more likely to engage in criminal behavior, get involved in drugs and alcohol and have problems as adults." The program involves a warning letter from the State's Attorney's office telling the parents to resolve the issue with the pupil personnel worker or face criminal charges. "If we have to take them to court then we are going to seek imprisonment and on the cases we have prosecuted so far the judges have agreed," said Cassilly. These defendants were the third parents in a year to go to jail in Harford County for failing to send their children to school. Several other cases are pending and are scheduled to go to trial shortly.

Evidence showed that Robin Batts' child had missed 50 days of school in 2000, 23 days in 2001 and 19 days as of December of 2002. Ms. Batts repeatedly failed to respond to school officials efforts to contact her to resolve the problem. Ms. Shannon's child was absent or tardy 84 days during the past school year. "The aim of the program is not to get parents in jail but to get kids in schools," said Cassilly, "but hopefully this will serve as an incentive."