Tuesday, July 6, 2010

Education Week: Missed School Meetings Could Mean Jail Time for Detroit Parents

Education Week: Missed School Meetings Could Mean Jail Time for Detroit Parents

Missed School Meetings Could Mean Jail Time for Detroit Parents

An instructor teaching Detroit Public Schools parents skills to better help their children manage school looks through her notes during a class last month in Detroit.
—Corey Willams/AP

The night Demarco Harris shot and killed a woman during a robbery on a Detroit street, his parents told police knocking on their door at 2 a.m. they didn't know where their 12-year-old was.

Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy said that's indicative of a larger issue in Detroit, where the lack of making parents accountable for their children partly is blamed on elevated truancy and dropout rates, as well as a recent rash of violent crimes involving teens.

Worthy has a new idea she hopes will fix the problem: Jail parents for up to three days