Illinois Compulsory Attendance Age Lowered to 6 Years of Age

Memorial Day seems like a strange time to pass important legislation.  Unless you’re in Illinois.  After much debate and opposition from the minority party, the Illinois House passed Senate Bill 1307 calling for  compulsory attendance age to be reduced to 6 years of age.  This bill’s requirements are expensive and was opposed by parental choice advocates, along with local school administrators.

Teachers unions support the bill as part of the platform.

Illinois Education Association (IEA) on: Read more…

Round and Round We Go with Our Legislators

In Illinois, Mandatory Kindergarten is Not About the Children

Nebraska Supreme Court Case Heard

In 2011, Eric Thacker and Gail Morgan-Thacker’s family started homeschooling.  The local public school district started its school year August 17, 2011.  The Thackers filed an election statement (notice of homeschooling intent) effective on October 3.  The State contends the children were truant from August 17 until October 3, 2011.  They were charged on October 17, 2011 with 5 counts of violating the school compulsory attendance statute. They have 5 children within the realm of compulsory school attendance age of 6 and 18.  Regardless of the cost issues for taxpayers, let alone usefulness for children, these cases are one reason why homeschoolers should always contest increasing the compulsory attendance age range.

The District Court ruled in the Thacker family’s favor.  The State appealed the decision.  The Nebraska Supreme Court chose to take the case and the Dawson County family’s case was heard in oral argument yesterday morning.

You can hear the oral arguments in front of the court here.

The question seems to be when the school year starts for a first-time Nebraska homeschooling family in order to complete the 1,032 hours of schooling. First year homeschoolers must file 30 days prior to their ‘school’ start time.

The Supreme Court decision will be forthcoming.

Illinois – Bill Lowering Compulsory Attendance Age from 7 to 5 Years of Age

The Chicago Tribune posted an article regarding a continuing effort to lower the Illinois compulsory school attendance age to 5.
Mandatory school age could fall from 7 to 5 in Illinois By Gary Marx and David Jackson

In a move aimed at countering Chicago’s crisis in K-8 truancy and absenteeism, state Sen. Kimberly Lightford has introduced legislation to lower Illinois’ compulsory school age from 7 to 5.

Senator Lightford is the Vice-Chair on the Senate Education Committee.  The bill [SB 1307] is currently in the Assignments Committee, not yet assigned to the Education Committee.   Representative La Shawn Ford apparently plans to co-sponsor the bill in the House.  His indictment and legal status might affect that future possibility.  But the Illinois Senate and House both have a Democrat Party super-majority.  From the Tribune: Read more…

Sir Ken Returns to TED Talks

Why don’t we get the best out of people? In one of the most popular TED Talks ever presented, Sir Ken Robinson argues that it’s because we’ve been educated to become good workers, rather than creative thinkers. “We are educating people out of their creativity,” Robinson says. It’s a message with deep resonance.

Now, in this new TED Talk, a poignant but still funny follow-up video to his highly popular 2006 talk, Sir Ken Robinson makes the case for a radical shift from standardized schools to personalized learning: creating conditions where the natural talents of children can flourish and grow.

Truancy Lunacy

In an article titled Truant students’ parents arrested on The Times Hearld website, District Judge Ester Casillo is quoted as saying “Once a citation for truancy is issued by this court, it is no longer a school issue but rather a court issue.” This sums up the lunacy – one institution tasked with an impossible mission ignores signs of its own failure, and then finds the ‘solution’ by passing kids and families off to yet another institution which can only offer an even less appropriate approach.

Maybe if I could suspend my lack of belief in the institution of public schooling it would make more sense. Maybe if an institution could fill the needs of children and families it would be different, but, I can’t get around the reality that schools are being asked to do the impossible – replace families – raise kids.

Sampling of truancy articles:

Truant students’ parents arrested

Child truant, parent jailed

Judge Orders Truants to Carry GPS Tracking Device

Classes starting for parents of troubled kids

School district, sheriff’s office agreement formally approved by commission

San Francisco Launches Program to Tackle Truancy

There is a thread of troubled families and lack of personal responsibility throughout these articles. Personal responsibility is one thing, responsibility to bolster a flawed institution is quite another.

Costly “Truancy Tickets” Keep LA Students at Home

4,328 students were ticketed by the school police for being truant or late to school in 2008. An average of 24 students per day. The cost of the infraction for being absent is $250 the first time, and it can increase if you reoffend. In the last school year the LASPD obtained more than $1 million.

According to the Labor/Community Strategy Center, around 12,000 students were fined in Los Angeles County during 2008. Such fines can also be issued by the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) and the Sheriff department.

$1 million dollars revenue, is this a deficit neutral effort, or, does it generate income?

From the ‘criminals’:

A student from Manual Arts High School, who asked to be identified as “Mike J,” says that many times it is not his fault when he is late to school because sometimes the bus is late.

“Many times we prefer to go back home instead of getting ticketed by the police who stand in front of the school waiting for us,” he said.

Edith Honorato, a student at Roosevelt High School, recently wrote in her school paper, “Am I a criminal for being late to school?”

Criminalize kids early and often? What’s next? Truancy – the new gateway crime?

While this effort may generate short term statistical ‘success’, it is a jaw droopingly wrong headed, counter-productive way to treat kids.

Read Costly “Truancy Tickets” Keep LA Students at Home.