SCREVEN COUNTY, Ga. — A Georgia mom was arrested because of her 10-year-old son’s sick days.
Julie Giles was arrested and shackled earlier this month because her son had 12 unexcused absences from school.
Under Georgia law a child can miss up to 10 school days before action is taken.
Giles said that she and other parents should have the right to keep their kids home without having to get a doctor’s note every time.
In Illinois, excessive absences can be considered a form of child neglect and parents could be sentenced to 30 days in jail.
fromoj
Got to get that doctor’s note. People have forgotten or don’t know what the Federal School system actually is.
thatguywhodidthingsandstuff
wow.. this is the dumbest thing i’ve ever heard.. arrested for absences? how is that legal? i’be be suing.. i missed way more then 10 days of school as a kid. not consecutively, but still.. glad were not backwards where i live live they are.
hailet
I guess it’s safe to say that things have changed since you were a kid.
Concerned Citizen
It is state law. The age of compulsory attendance varies from state to state, but all states have truancy laws. I believe GA is aged 6 to 16. Parents can homeschool or send kids to a private school, but they have to attend school until they turn 16.
This student had 12 unexcused absences. The school in question allows 5 parent written excuse notes, so that’s at least 17 absences…willing to bet the total number was a lot higher.
The bottom line is that it never would have gotten to the point it did if she had responded when the school contacted her about the excessive absences. They have a protocol before court action and other families have stated that all they had to do was work with the school on whatever the issues were. She had to have ignored the school’s attempts to resolve before court action.
bs
The State is here guilty of child abuse for taking away the child’s mother.