If state law was written in a fashion to hold the parents responsible...it’s this gal’s tough luck.
I think the better tactic to use....simply fail the kid after the 10th unexcused absence, and let him repeat a year. That might get the kid’s attention real quick if he knew how simple it was to fail him.
You are suggesting that the state take away one year of this child's life. That is the power of the government. Government can take away LIFE! It has police with bullets, courts, and prisons that do this. If a person resists the police can shoot him.
Line up 75 pennies. Take one away. That is what one year is in a person's life. You would suggest this punishment for a person who is reported to be a good student?
I am vaguely aware that there is some case moving the law in that direction but it must make all of us uneasy to impose vicarious criminal liability. Remember, this is a single mom and although she does not plead this circumstance in this case it does not take much imagination to conceive of a situation in which a single mom simply has no control over her teenage son. We see this in the ghetto every day.
I don't like the idea of punishing A for the crimes of B.
