Can a parent really be sent to jail for not sending their kids to school?

Question

My daughter is 16, she is Autistic, she has been in a great school where some of the other kids are eighther ADD, autistic or just have trouble with school, but now the principal wants to move her to a different school where she will be with kids that are moderate to severly disabled, for the first time in her life she is understanding what frienship means and her friends are really helpfull with her autism; in the other school she will be exposed to kids with no social skills, she will basically be taking a step backward, that makes me angry and sad, I don't know where to turn, should I hire an attorney to keep her in the same school or should I find programms away from the regular school system for the remainder of the time untill she turns 18. Im affraid that if I pull her out of the regular school system I'll end up with legal issues (jail)

Answer 1

Theoretically yes, but I suspect placing the child in foster care is a more common outcome.

Autism is difficult because there is a great deal of educational value in being with nondisabled peers. As far as the needs of your child go, the general ed school is probably the best placement for her.

I suspect that they are talking about the move because of the impact of your daughter's behaviors on the learning of other students. By law, teams have to consider that as well. Some schools seem to be better able to manage those behaviors so that they don't have so much of an impact on the learning of other students.

I'm going to assume you're in the US for this part of it. If you're not, you'll have different laws.

OK, so we've got a placement decision to make. It is a team decision, not a unilateral (one-sided) decision. Best case scenario is that we examine the evidence and what we know about the student, and we reach a consensus. Maybe not everybody agrees with the decision, but they can live with it.

And if you can't reach a consensus? Let's assume the disagreement is between the school district and the family. The school's got its own deadlines to meet, so eventually they have to put together an IEP, and say, essentially, "This is our offer of a Free and Appropriate Public Education (FAPE). You can take it, or you can leave it."

You have several options at this point.

a) You can take it. Accept the IEP as is.

b) You can leave it. You have the right to decline FAPE, choosing to either home school your child, or making a unilateral decision to place your child in a private school at your own expense. Of course, choosing homeschooling over a public special school is an odd choice if your objective is to maximize the time she spends with peers.

The private school, by the way, is under no legal obligation to follow an IEP. In some cases, families have managed to get the school system to pay for the private school, but I cannot guess at the merits of your case.

c) You can seek mediation. This is the recommended option--most likely to result in a satisfactory outcome. For some reason, it may be the least used option.

d) You have the right to a due process hearing. You and your lawyer present your case, the district and their lawyer present their case, a hearing officer makes a decision.

This can be a lot like a divorce in that a lot of time and money is spent on documentation, you can damage the home-school relationship even further, and you may get an outcome that makes nobody happy except the lawyers. An attorney I know says, "You don't win due process. You lose, or you lose big, and nobody loses more than the child."

e) You can also file an official complaint with the state or with the Office of Civil Rights if you think your rights have been infringed upon. Such a complaint usually sends teachers, administrators, and bureacrats scrambling to assemble documentation. Whether it will get you a better education for your child is anybody's guess.

Answer 2

I see you are getting a lot of Yes you can go to jail, but that is only partially true. If you can prove that you can homeschool your child then you do not have to send your child to school. The lady down the road from me has four children one of them is autistic and she homeschools all of them.

What you need to do is fight for her right to stay where she is at. If she will be taking a step backwards changing schools then this is not the learning environment that would be best for your daughter.

Answer 3

What do the school psychologist and the rest of the IEP team say?  Is she successfully working on her IEP goals within her regular classroom? I think you should definitely call the superintendent and also write to the President of the School Board to say you feel your daughter is successfully improving in her IEP goals at her current school and it would be disruptive to her education to move her now.

Would her special education teachers agree with that assessment?

Why does the principal want to move her? I find that very odd.

For an autistic student especially if she has managed to make friends she should not be forced to change schools -- again if she is successfully making progress in her IEP goals.

If the principal has what he/she feels is a valid reason for moving your daughter (not budgetary or overcrowding -- that is not your daughter`s problem) and the superintendent and school board and IEP team are not helpful then ask if you can homeschool (you don`t have to ask permission to homeschool and you should DEFINITELY apply for all the homeschool assistance from the district you can if you go this way) but if you can homeschool with your daughter participating in social skills class and activities at the current school.  Then she can see her friends.

Those are my suggestions.

Actually if she is sixteen then technically she can drop out and you can pull her out. But for her benefit as well as being above reproach -- if you did pull her out I would do the homeschooling thing. For an autistic student field trips and social activities are part of their schooling to help improve their functioning so the district assistance programs should be paying for some of those.

Best of luck.

Answer 4

well i understand your problem, but yes a parent can go to jail for not sending their kid to school, because it is considered depriving the child from education. You should hire an attorney in case of anything or have you considered homeschooling for a while.

Answer 5

You can educate children at home.  I am assuming you are in the US as you use the word attorney.

I recon the best thing would be to keep your daughter at the same school but if that is not possible I have included some websites below which give you information on schooling at home.  If you are in the UK just google home education to get UK sites.

Answer 6

Yes you can go to jail for not sending your child to school. I think you should talk to the school where they want to send her as it may not be as bad as you think. Many special schools have a higher ratio of staff to pupils and are able to give children the extra attention they need. Visit this school and find out exactly what they can do for your daughter. If you are still unhappy with the new school ask the education board to look at other placements that may be available for her. You have a right for the education system to provide the best education for your daughter but it will be up to you to push them. Good luck.

Answer 7

there are different rules for special needs kids -talk to the school superintendant.

Answer 8

The principal cannot move your child without your permission.  At the IEP meeting you are a member of the team, just as the teacher, psych, principal.   Please go to wrightslaw.com to learn how to advocate for your daughter.  Here's a link to the procedural safeguards page, perfect place for you to start.   http://www.wrightslaw.com/info/safgd.ind...

Schools often hope that parents aren't well informed on their rights, or the law. It makes their job much easier when they can make all the decisions without considering your input.

If you can, get a parent advocate to go with you to the next meeting.  Just do a search for advocates in your general area. If you can afford it, a special education attorney would be good, though you'd probably only need a letter from him to snap the school district back into line. DO NOT SIGN ANYTHING until your attorney looks it over.  

There's no reason she can't stay in the same placement if she's being successfull there!  Have the principal give you prior written notice about why he believe this change would be in her best interest.   Perhaps like a previous answer, some days in her current placement, some days in the alternate placement.  

Also, since your daughter is 16 it could be that they're talking about transitional planning.  This SHOULD be explained to you, but obviously wasn't, or if it was, they didn't do a very good job.  Here's a link with good information regarding transitional planning.  http://www.wrightslaw.com/info/trans.ind...

Good luck!

Answer 9

In West Virginia, the answer is yes.

Answer 10

Talk to a lawyer or advocate.  They will be able to help you with this, kids with special needs are also kids with special laws and requirements.  When our mentally handicapped daughter turned 18, she had to write and sign a letter that she wanted one of us, her parents, there in any and all meetings.  They said at age 18, she was independent and had to invoke a right to have an advocate present.  (She was in a regular high school.)

Make sure you know how the law reads in your state for the disabled under 18.  The school is supposed to provide you with all applicable laws and even information about lawyers and advocates that will give free advice.

Answer 11

have you tried mediation/stay put order

in similar situations I have heard of--social services  does get involved and works to find an appropriate educational solution-the parent isn't threatened with having the child taken away or jail until there is an actual court order that is not followed..

also at 16--students are allowed to withdraw from school.

one parent did home school until a placement that was acceptable to her and the school was found...

home instruction provided through the district is also an option if an appropriate palcement cannot be agreed upon.

Answer 12

You are aloud to homeschool. As long as the child is getting some form of education, either public private or home, it do not matter.

I think it is a sin what is happening with your daughter, you are right it is going to set her back to be taken from her friends and with people who are below her level. I would talk to an attorney and see what can be done to keep her where she is too or to talkt o them to see what you need to homeschool in your area (some need a letter from the school board or state, some need certain records and documents filed etc)

Answer 13

First- to answer your first question, you can get fined for not sending your child to school if you don't make your intentions known.  It sounds like you are interested in homeschooling, and  as a parent, you always have the option to do this, no matter what your state.  All you have to do is call your district and request an intent to home school form and return it to them.  But really think about this option, as it still wouldn't meet your goal for your daughter, which is socialization with peers and current friends.  

Also you can get an advocate (cheaper than an attorney, but they have similar skills) to help you.  You would have to agree to move her in her IEP, and if you don't agree, she must stay where she is.  Depending on how long she's been there, though they (the school) may not be meeting all of her needs, and that may be what they are really trying to tell you.  It's possible you may be defining 'success' in a different manner than school.  

Here's the rub, you don't say how severe your child's Autism is, but I assume she qualifies as a student with a moderate to severe delay.  What the school may really be getting at is that it may be time for your child to learn community living skills, which are generally taught in programs for moderate to severely disabled kids- and probably isn't taught at her current school (just a guess).  

In my district, when high-school aged children go into those more restrictive programs, it's because it's time to teach job skills, not academics.  We have kids that volunteer at the local children's hospital in the cafeteria, they learn how to take the bus independently, shop, and essentially self-care skills.  Some also get *real* jobs with a job coach's support, and this person helps them understand job skills, as well as how to cash checks and the like.  

These programs go until the child is in her 22nd year (they don't *have* to stop at 18 when a child gets special education services!)- so the school she's currently at may be looking down the road and thinking of how to get her ready for the transistion to adulthood -honestly, it's federal law that this is considered by IEP teams at the age of 16.  (check out your parent's rights booklet- this is referred to as 'transistion services).

I say visit the recommended school and talk to the teachers.  Really go and see for yourself what the prevalence is of verbal to nonverbal (don't just look at mobility- that does't tell the entire story) and what kind of work related programs they have. You may even decide you want to participate in some of the program, but not all!  That's ok!  You could have your daughter do part day in each program or spend 2 days a week at one and 3 days of the week at the other!  It's been my experience that alternative schools can work well together and can be flexible for you.  That way you get the best of both worlds.  

Socialization is good and important, but there will come a time when you have to start thinking about what life will be like for your daughter when she no longer qualifes for public education services (and even further, what will happen when you aren't around or able to care for her- tough thought, but true).  That time may not be this year, but later, but that time will come.  Going to a school like the one you describe may make it easier for her to transistion into a group home type facility or access other community programming so you (and she) aren't completely out there on your own when she turns 23!  

I know it's a tough decision to make, and again, at 16, it may not need to be made right now- but the issue will arise again, because your daughter is growing into a young woman, so be glad and proud, not scared.  To talk to more parents dealing with the same issue, give a call to your local ARC branch!

Answer 14

I unsure why the principal wants to move her if she is being successful. Try talking to to the teacher and the IEP team. maybe they can recommend that she stays there. The principal must comply to the IEP. It is federal law. What you explained is not in her best intress.

Yes a parent can either be placed in jail for not sending their child to school, or have them taken away by CPS.

You might want to check the state laws concerning this issue. Every state is different. Hear in CA. a student must stay in school until they are 17 yrs old. The law had no recourse to send the parents to jail then. Many parents with special needs use this law when there students are lower functioning.

Hope this helps.