Protest over mother's prison term continues

By SARA LEITCH
The Express-Times

PHILLIPSBURG, NJ -- Relatives of a woman jailed for not performing community service related to her son's truancy resumed their protest outside the Philipsburg Board of Education on Monday, leaving after school officials called the police to remove them from the parking lot near the building's entrance.

"They have that right to protest, I just don't want them to get injured," Superintendent Gordon Pethick said. "Reasonableness has to prevail."

School officials said it was the court's decision to put Tyler in prison. When parents are called to court because of their children's truancy, Pethick said, school administrators present the facts and judges decide

"It's not unusual for the school district to file five-day notices and take parents to court on attendance," Pethick said. "We want to get the kids in to get the best education possible. Their future depends on their education."



Kids skip class - and parents go to jail?

As federal law spurs schools to curtail truancy, some use a get-tough approach with parents.
By Stacy A. Teicher | Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor

While some parents have served short jail terms for contributing to their children's truancy, most are sentenced to perform community service or pay fines if they fail to respond to less-punitive measures.