That Judge seems to be an Asshat.
If he is trying to punish her for working hard then my opinion stands.
If he is doing it as a shot of sympathy (though it doesn't seem so,) to slow her down for her own good before she cracks then I'll withhold my opinion.

Excessive truancy? WTF, is this 1958?

"If you let one of them run loose, what are you gonna do with the rest of them, let them go too?"
Well, yeah, that's one possibility. Or, hey, maybe this Judge could actually do his job, otherwise lets just replace him with a Judgebot 3000 and save the taxpayers some money.

*promote

Promoting this video and sending it back into the queue for one more try; last queued Monday, May 28th, 2012 7:58am PDT - promote requested by pumkinandstorm.

The problem isnt so much the judge but Texas itself. Release Austin from your belly vile wretch!

>> ^pumkinandstorm:

promote


Ma'am. <tips cowboy hat>

Texas is a great example of the conservatives idea of "small government".

>> ^pumkinandstorm:

promote


Thanks!

I hit the wrong button at first and quoted you in the thread.

[Shit! I think I need a nap.]

My Junior and Senior year, I skipped more school days than I went to, best 6 years of my life high school.

I remember seeing a video not too long ago (could even have been here on the Sift) showing that one of the USA's most surprising statistics is that 1% of Americans are currenttly in JAIL. With stupid judgements like this being put forward, it's not surprising at all.

^Upvoted^

They say it takes a village to raise a child. Texas is one heck of a village.


(Also, where the hell are her parents???)

"I haven't thought about it."

Pretty much describes why the legal system is fucked side ways.

I mean if you got someone who is struggling, but still performing beyond the normal student. AND working a full time job AND working a part time job, you should put a little fucking thought into that.

When she turns 18, do they have the authority to throw her in jail anymore? Does she still have the right to an education if she misses then?

Why is it OK to punish teens like they are adults when they murder someone and then turn around and do it when they are doing everything in their power to keep everything together so they can try to make something of themselves?

That's not right and that's not justice. Just breeding hatred of the government punishing people whose biggest crime is doing TOO much to try to make a life for themselves and the worst law they broke is truancy WHILE making school their bitch with college level courses.

If she were a star sports player, they probably even wouldn't record her truancy days because "LOL she needs her rest for the big game!"

What a ridiculous ruling.


Americans are too stupid to think for themselves since they keep voting for more government control. We got what we deserve and she paid the price. We have laws in America. How dare she miss school. That's illegal.
We must have order at ALL times. Jail her.

And the really stupid thing about this. There is the work programs high school offer where people take half the day and go to a job at least 3 days a week and often 5. Or the career tech centers who replace the last two years of high school with job prep courses and what not instead of the classical classes. And there's nothing wrong with this, legally or otherwise, but it won't help you get into a top tier college like taking college level courses would.

So these guys are dropping a major portion of their class load to go work, and this girl is carrying a full class load, working TWO jobs, and gets punished.

They should be finding some way to alleviate her need for at least one of her jobs through student loans for her brother or whatever.

It'd be different if they caught her out tagging her name all over town. Really her parents need their asses kicked, not her.

I don't understand how jail figures into the equation. If government claims education is a right, can't she waive that right? I looked up truancy and it's about neglecting one's duties. So which is it, is education a right, or a duty?

Great, re-traumatize a traumatized 17 year old girl for the second time....

She should have gotten her high school equivalency when she was 16 and gone straight to university.

She would have saved 2 years of her life, saved tax-payers 2 years of expensive but worthless schooling, and she wouldn't have had to deal with bureaucrats (except those at university).

I don't see how this is a criminal / court issue at all.

If the school wants to kick her out, that would be their decision (it'd be a dick thing to do, but up to them). She is old enough to drop out, so the idea that the government can get entangled with "excessive truancy" is completely ridiculous.

If she isn't completing schoolwork, tell her that she may fail courses and therefore fail to graduate. But from the side that we're hearing here, it sounds like she is keeping up just fine.

Whatever the whole story is, it seems to be that it should be an issue between the school and the student. Judge needs to stop power-tripping.

Public schools aren't allowed to expel someone for truancy, they can fail you but not expel you. Not on that fact alone and I say as long as she was turning her work in who cares if she was there or not. When I went to school I regularly missed 20-30 days a year due to a chronic illness but I always did my work my parents would pick up my make up work I completed it and I never failed a single grade and had honors classes in junior high and high school.

>> ^MilkmanDan:

I don't see how this is a criminal / court issue at all.
If the school wants to kick her out, that would be their decision (it'd be a dick thing to do, but up to them). She is old enough to drop out, so the idea that the government can get entangled with "excessive truancy" is completely ridiculous.
If she isn't completing schoolwork, tell her that she may fail courses and therefore fail to graduate. But from the side that we're hearing here, it sounds like she is keeping up just fine.
Whatever the whole story is, it seems to be that it should be an issue between the school and the student. Judge needs to stop power-tripping.

I finished the equivalent of 1.5 years of high school over a 4-year period, dropped out for a few years, did my equivalency, and got in the top ten percentile, then made the Dean's List and got scholarships my first year at university.

So yeah, screw high school. Bloody useless, especially comapred with taking care of your family. Geez.

>> ^Auger8:

Public schools aren't allowed to expel someone for truancy, they can fail you but not expel you. Not on that fact alone and I say as long as she was turning her work in who cares if she was there or not. When I went to school I regularly missed 20-30 days a year due to a chronic illness but I always did my work my parents would pick up my make up work I completed it and I never failed a single grade and had honors classes in junior high and high school.

I didn't know that schools can't expel you for truancy -- good to know. Can they suspend you?

I think there are times when actually attending class is pretty important to providing a valid assessment/grade for a student, and teachers/schools do need to be able to fail a student that isn't showing up. Lab classes and other situations where you can't just do an assignment on your own time and have it graded equivalently to a student who is actually there, for example. Most of the time that probably isn't something that they should do, but in general I think that the teacher's and school's discretion is important.

I definitely agree that if she is turning in her work and measuring up to the standards of her teachers and the general school guidelines, I don't care how many days she misses. Still, I think that it is reasonable for her to have to "lobby her case" to her teachers and administration. Just not a judge. School handing out whatever punishment they feel is necessary or called for (quite possibly none) -- fine. Night in jail -- ridiculous.

Thank you for working so hard to support your family, and being an amazing student, but OH by the way the school is loosing money for that sports team and that new gym because you aren't in your seat enough. Oh no I know that we could weight your situation and use our brains and college educations to understand that your particular situation is different but we would rather just make an example with a great student. Thank you Texas justic system for punishing all the really terrible people in the world. You know the kind straight A's in school and works two jobs to support family. Yeah those people are terrible and should have to just follow the rules no matter what even though shes doing well enough with two jobs to be an honors student. I have a great idea though. If we are just going to punish people no matter the situation lets fire that judge that I know is making a very large salary and just put in a computer that knows the law and that way it can pass judgement just as well as he did. I guess that law degree he has didn't come with any commen sense.

"She had broken a Texan law that makes it a crime to miss more than 10 days of school in a six month period, according to local news

When she recently missed classes again, he issued a summons and had her arrested in open court when she appeared." - src

So yeah, that judge is an Asshat for what he did, but the fact there is a law for missing school in Texas is even worse.

Just insane. Yeah, who cares about this girl's specific situation... we have laws on the books and she must go to jail or order will break down completely!

Unbelievable. I'm lost for words.

Here's the thing about that law it's not typically designed to punish the student, I live in Texas I know, the law is mainly targeted for parents who don't care to make sure their child goes to school or even care if their children get an education period. For some reason truancy in Texas has spiked dramatically in recent years since nothing else they've done seems to work so they've started telling parents that if you don't make sure your kid goes to school you could possibly be faced with jail time for neglect. This is actually the first time I've heard of a student themselves being jailed and I can only assume it's because she has no parents to hold accountable. Do I agree with the law no, do I think this was taken WAY too far in this case, definitely. But I still can't come up with a better answer for getting parents to realize that's it's not okay if you don't make sure your child gets a proper education. I still think these things need to be tried on a case by case basis and if the child is on their own that EVERY available solution should be explored first before resorting to drastic measures like this. That said there are some kids who simply won't go even if you walk them in the door to school every day yourself. If a kid wants to get out of school that bad they'll wait for first period to end and skip class on their own. So what do we do then? What do you do about parents who simply refuse to take their kids to school and also refuse to pull their kids out of school?(Which is entirely legal in Texas, you can pull your kids out of school anytime you wish.) Do we continue to let them waste tax payer dollars, Teacher's time and other children's resources?(For instance some electives only have so many slots per class) I don't know I don't think they should be so cavalier about sending a kid to jail but if you don't take drastic measures with some kids/parents they simply won't listen any other way.

>> ^seltar:

"She had broken a Texan law that makes it a crime to miss more than 10 days of school in a six month period, according to local news
When she recently missed classes again, he issued a summons and had her arrested in open court when she appeared." - src
So yeah, that judge is an Asshat for what he did, but the fact there is a law for missing school in Texas is even worse.

I think they can suspend you now too but that sort of defeats the purpose if you ask me doesn't it? But the rules have changed a lot since I went to school here is Texas and that was only 13 years ago.
>> ^MilkmanDan:

>> ^Auger8:
Public schools aren't allowed to expel someone for truancy, they can fail you but not expel you. Not on that fact alone and I say as long as she was turning her work in who cares if she was there or not. When I went to school I regularly missed 20-30 days a year due to a chronic illness but I always did my work my parents would pick up my make up work I completed it and I never failed a single grade and had honors classes in junior high and high school.
I didn't know that schools can't expel you for truancy -- good to know. Can they suspend you?
I think there are times when actually attending class is pretty important to providing a valid assessment/grade for a student, and teachers/schools do need to be able to fail a student that isn't showing up. Lab classes and other situations where you can't just do an assignment on your own time and have it graded equivalently to a student who is actually there, for example. Most of the time that probably isn't something that they should do, but in general I think that the teacher's and school's discretion is important.
I definitely agree that if she is turning in her work and measuring up to the standards of her teachers and the general school guidelines, I don't care how many days she misses. Still, I think that it is reasonable for her to have to "lobby her case" to her teachers and administration. Just not a judge. School handing out whatever punishment they feel is necessary or called for (quite possibly none) -- fine. Night in jail -- ridiculous.

Well this is just bizarre. I went to high-school my freshman year but that's it. I stayed enrolled but the only two classes I attended for the next two years were video productions and drama, and even those were a "sometimes" thing.

It took them until the end of my junior year to finally kick me out of school, and even then I could've probably stayed if I really wanted. That whole time, I only really got in trouble maybe two or three times, and that was only when someone directly caught me off campus.

As far as I know, my high school GPA still stands at 0.05. And this girl goes to jail for a few classes?

*promote

Promoting this video back to the front page; last published Monday, May 28th, 2012 1:44pm PDT - promote requested by pumkinandstorm.

>> ^pumkinandstorm:

promote


Thanks.

[Damn, I just always miss the "profile reply" button ]

The judge asks "If I let her go, what am I going to do with the rest of them?"

I don't know... maybe, look at the facts of the case, and decide on a course of action that will benefit the people involved and society?

If he made the right decision in this case, would that - horrifyingly - lead to him make the right decision in other cases?

>> ^seltar:

"She had broken a Texan law that makes it a crime to miss more than 10 days of school in a six month period, according to local news
When she recently missed classes again, he issued a summons and had her arrested in open court when she appeared." - src
So yeah, that judge is an Asshat for what he did, but the fact there is a law for missing school in Texas is even worse.


Yep, that's Texas for you. Home of the small braingovernment crowd.

It is so sad that it takes the miracle of a local news team doing a great job for this judge to ACTUALLY DO HIS JOB and temper and correct the inefficiencies written into law. I hope he learns some measure of virtue from this.

Where are the delinquent parents? They just moved away?

Yup, that's what the article says...

More I think about this the more it bugs me. I can't help but think that someone at that school doesn't like this girl for whatever reason. I had perfect attendance my senior year, made me feel like an asshole for being a chump and showing up that much. But I say that to qualify that I KNOW a girl there who got 4 year perfect attendance wasn't there a good portion of the senior year and she still got the award because she was involved in sports/programs and her parents knew people at the school and argued for her to get missed days expunged for various reasons. Like showing up for 15 minutes then going home sick counted as a day for her, but not for someone else for instance...because it would allow her to compete that night in track.

High school prepares you for life, but not in the "education" way. More in the "you can break the rules if you're in this group" and "you can't break the rules if you're in this group" and "we'll make more rules for you, if you're in this group" kind of way. No matter how they coat it, education is not the core of schools focus anymore.

Feed your flesh to the machine that demands it.

I'm a teacher and I've never, EVER heard of someone being jailed for truancy. Must be a Texas thang...

>> ^shagen454:

@Boise_Lib
shagen454
notarobot
Stormsinger
calmlyintoit

The problem isn't so much the judge but Texas itself. Release Austin from your belly vile wretch!
Uhh,yeah.-Blame a state ya pusillanimous and oft ("ist") assholes-The problem ain't with a state-It's with the state of mind that ejects such bile in the form of comments. Read a fucking book or GET OUT MORE!!!

bobknight33 nailed it. You others well, you need schooling!

>> ^jcf79:

"If you let one of them run loose, what are you gonna do with the rest of them, let them go too?"
Well, yeah, that's one possibility. Or, hey, maybe this Judge could actually do his job, otherwise lets just replace him with a Judgebot 3000 and save the taxpayers some money.


Brilliant point. Never been able to express that point so clearly!