CT - Homeless women arrested for sending her son to school

[Kat]

A similar problem was just settled here in the state I live in not so long ago. It was still being worked out logistically when I arrived here.

Here is an outline:

http://www.aclu.org/racial-justice_...nts-rights/state-provide-homeless-children-eq

Quickest link I could find.

Here the state does not provide school bus transportation. We pay (200.00+ per child) to ride a bus hired by the state contractually or if a parent qualifies the payment reduced or/is free by voucher which to get a voucher at one time the parent had to show address, current proof of income...etc.)

Not trying to go off the subject too much just supporting that this isn't such an unusual occurance. What is unusual is that this parent is being brought forth on charges.

For reference: this state's population is about 1.3 million. The number of homeless is very conservative and difficult to determine but the latest number I heard for just this part of the state is almost 14,000.

[video=youtube;Ps0CsOSxwmA]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ps0CsOSxwmA[/video]
Note this video is dated 2007.

This really was a huge problem and the recession has absolutely devastated this state given their main sources of income. No one see's this because when they visit they usually stay in the tourist areas or main visit main tourist hot spots. Living here and driving along a stretch of road that isn't usually travelled by tourists gives you an idea of how profound this problem is....I can only imagine that it's more widespread than we know and that the charges brought forth against this woman should stir some of our guests to look into the policies and practices of their own local school districts.

Love to all the children that have to grow up homeless and during this severe recession. :hug:

 

[Bobbisangel]

I wonder if the mom used the babysitter's address because she was never sure where she would be each day. If you have to leave the shelter during the day maybe there is that chance all of the beds will be filled when the mom and son come back in the evening. This whole thing does narrow down to money. The districts battle over education money. The point really isn't what school this boy is in. It's that one school is getting paid for him to go to their school when the shelter is in a different district and that school isn't getting paid for the boy even though he lives in that district. Schools make a big deal over things that they should just turn a blind eye. Get their backs up about the big things...they should pick their battles and just be thankful that this young boy is in school!

The babysitter got kicked out of her apartment one of the news channels said!!!

 

[tlcya]

My friend and coworker raised an interesting point on this topic today. Anyone else notice the apparent disconnect here:

Illegal immigrants' children are not supposed to be questioned about their status and they are being given an education on tax payer dime and yet homeless citizens are being arrested and charged for theft of services for sending THEIR children to school??? Whether the children of immigrants are legal (ie born here to illegal parents) or illegal (ie not born here, not citizens and so illegal) they are being given an education because they reside in the zone of the school they attend. Homeless citizen/student not attending the school the city decides is nearest the shelter mom mostly resides at but is attending school in the zone nearest to daycare provider's home is penalized??

How is this okay?

 

[RLynne]

I know that my school district has a program for homeless or transitional kids, similar to what others have described. In looking for info about it, I stumbled on this: McKinney–Vento Homeless Assistance Act . There appears to be federal legislation on the matter (per the wikipedia article, states can choose to either accept the federal funding, and therefore be bound by the act, or not accept the funding, and not be bound). It looks like Connecticut is bound by the act (http://www.cga.ct.gov/2002/olrdata/ed/rpt/2002-r-0561.htm -- although that seems to be from 2002, and my google skills are failing me right now, and I can't find anything more up-to-date).

According to what I read at the link re: Connecticut, and in the original article, charging this woman may have been in violation of federal law. Not my area of expertise, but I hope she gets a good lawyer!

 

[momtective]

I've avoided this thread because I just knew it was going to pi$$ me off...now I've read it and sure enough, I'm pi$$ed! There should be sheer public outrage, if indeed the woman was homeless. If that is the case I hope she gets a really good attorney.

 

[tlcya]

This is the kind of case a good attorney looking to make the papers would love to take pro bono for the press and marketing opportunities. Lets hope one steps forward to take this woman's case.

THIS is the sort of case Gloria Alred SHOULD be taking, rather than mistresses of sports stars!

 

[momtective]

This is the kind of case a good attorney looking to make the papers would love to take pro bono for the press and marketing opportunities. Lets hope one steps forward to take this woman's case.

THIS is the sort of case Gloria Alred SHOULD be taking, rather than mistresses of sports stars!

Indeed! I mean it's bad enough for the child to be homeless but then to have his mother arrested because he's attending school...the emotional damage alone should be worth millions.

 

[tlcya]

And even if there were no payday, Gloria has had enough big paydays off of Tiger and others lately she could afford to do it just because it is right and her name would be out there. That seems important to her (the press thing).

 

[Linda7NJ]

I disagree with the bulk of posts on this thread. I live in a district that spends an average of $14,000 per student, per year. It's supposed to be an "exceptional" education. I don't think so. My property taxes are over $8500. a year. I chose to send my own child to a private school at one third the cost the district is spending per child and he receives a far far better education.

I have a neighbor who allows a relative, that lives out of the district, to use her address. The relative drops her two children off everyday to be picked up by the bus. They are stealing. No different than the "homeless" woman.

If our taxes go up much more we will be moving. Does it sound fair that I want to live where I want to live and educate my child where I want him educated without footing the bill for freeloaders? Children whose greatest feat in life will be the ability to say, "You want fries wth that?" we should spend thousands of dollars a year, per child for that? Really?

 

[stillwatersc]

I feel that school districts are just segregation in disguise. A prior poster pays $8500 in property taxes - the poor can't do this - so they have to live in a less desirable "district".

 

[Nova]

I feel that school districts are just segregation in disguise. A prior poster pays $8500 in property taxes - the poor can't do this - so they have to live in a less desirable "district".

You're right. The inequities between school districts is far more immoral and outrageous than one mother--who lived in Norwalk until last year and probably hoped to return there--putting her kid in a Norwalk school.

 

[Nova]

I disagree with the bulk of posts on this thread. I live in a district that spends an average of $14,000 per student, per year. It's supposed to be an "exceptional" education. I don't think so. My property taxes are over $8500. a year. I chose to send my own child to a private school at one third the cost the district is spending per child and he receives a far far better education.

I have a neighbor who allows a relative, that lives out of the district, to use her address. The relative drops her two children off everyday to be picked up by the bus. They are stealing. No different than the "homeless" woman.

If our taxes go up much more we will be moving. Does it sound fair that I want to live where I want to live and educate my child where I want him educated without footing the bill for freeloaders? Children whose greatest feat in life will be the ability to say, "You want fries wth that?" we should spend thousands of dollars a year, per child for that? Really?

BBM: is that really what you meant to say, Linda? Are you having a bad week? Because I don't usually find your posts so heartless.

But if you insist on being practical, you can pay $15K per year for 12 years to teach a kid to say "Want fries with that?"

Or you can pay $35K+ per year later to support him in prison for his entire life.

 

[kgeaux]

I'm sitting here hoping I mis-read a post a couple up from mine. I homeschooled my boys, two of them all the way through their entry into university with scholarships. I am truly aware of how unfair and frustrating it feels to be paying taxes at outrageous rates to fund public education while at the same time spending mega bucks to ensure your child receives the best education possible.

However, it has been proven over and over again that education is THE key to a better future, especially for the underprivileged. NO child is doomed to say "Do you want fries with that." And it sure sounds elitist to say that children who sneak into a better district to attain a better education are still going to end up as the future check-out clerks of Mcdonalds.

I personally don't blame a parent for going out of district if the one they are assigned to is on its way to hell in a handbasket. I am not saying it is right for them to jump districts, but as a parent, I sure understand the motivation.

 

[CuriousHousewife]

This is so crazy! So the ONE person they actually CHARGE money for doing this is a woman who clearly has NO means to pay. Nice. Maybe they should be more concerned about whether this child has somewhere to lay his head and do his homework at night and whether or not he gets to eat each meal. I mean...the legal fees alone could go to HELPING this family!

 

[Nova]

This is so crazy! So the ONE person they actually CHARGE money for doing this is a woman who clearly has NO means to pay. Nice. Maybe they should be more concerned about whether this child has somewhere to lay his head and do his homework at night and whether or not he gets to eat each meal. I mean...the legal fees alone could go to HELPING this family!

I agree. I think the dollar amount is set in order to make the charge against the mother a felony, not because the district actually expects to ever see that money.

 

[marycarney]

Hmmmm....... when we started homeschooling in 1987, there were parents in jail in North Dakota and Michigan (and by 'in jail' I mean serving a sentence) for failing to send their children to the government schools.
Sort of damned if you do, damned if you don't?

 

[tlcya]

I think I need to excuse myself from this thread for a few days as I am unsure what is the appropriate response to some things.

 

[peeples]

I think the woman in this case, should be helped, not prosecuted.

http://wcfcourier.com/news/state-and-regional/iowa/article_a101c8aa-cd59-5de8-93e4-7a1bafb6bd21.html
http://wcfcourier.com/news/local/article_dd18e43c-3540-11e0-9789-001cc4c03286.html
However locally we just had a trial for people who falsified address's to get their children into better schools.
A lot of my friends pay out the rear to have a home in this particular school district so their children can go to this school. I think lying about your address is wrong. It is theft. If people want their children at certain schools, then they need to work hard and do what they need to do to be able to move into the neighborhoods the schools are in.

The town we live in has good schools, the one next to us.. not much, they are pretty bad. We could have a bigger home for a lot less money if we lived in the school district next door, could also probably have cable, take vacations, buy new clothes vs. used most of the time and a lot of other things but we do without a lot to make sure our kids can go to school here. If other parents want their kids in good schools, then they need to work and sacrifice for it as well.
Again i think the mother in this case should be helped not prosecuted.

 

[STEADFAST]

I am very much against there being rich school districts and poor school districts. Your property taxes are not levied to pay for YOUR children's education. They are levied because as a society we have decided that we all benefit from all our citizens being well educated. What about the many property owners in every district who have no children in the local schools? What do we care what children are educated with our tax money? I think property taxes should be pooled so that all children in each state have equal educational opportunities with no consideration about whether their parents own a valuable property or not.
As far as this woman goes, she broke the law, yes, but it doesn't seem like such a huge deal to me. She would not have been paying any property tax no matter what district she lived in, so the "wronged" district, if they want their money so much, ought to try to get it from the district her children should have been attending.

 

[CuriousHousewife]

I agree. I think the dollar amount is set in order to make the charge against the mother a felony, not because the district actually expects to ever see that money.

Right. Because THAT is in the best interest of the child