Texas Bill Would Fine Parents for Skipping Teacher Meeting, Charge Them With Misdemeanor

Cat Herder · Understander of unimportant things

Texas Bill Would Fine Parents for Skipping Teacher Meeting, Charge Them With Misdemeanor

salesortonscom · Wise and Revered Master

Cat Herder wrote:
Okay, this is taking it a bit too much, to say the least...

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,249139,00.html

What do you think of this?

More nanny state laws because we can't survive as a nation if we don't have them!

arbilad · Head Chef

I think that the idea is actively repugnant. When our kid was in public school, we missed one parent teacher meeting because we got the time confused. But that would sound like a lame excuse, even though we had been good about attending other meetings. I don't think it's fine worthy.

Here's a question for you: would you consider homeschool if they implemented a law like this in your state?

Roper · Senior Bucketkeeper

Yeah. Let's send even more unnecessary cases through our justice system. And for all of those single parents who can't make the conference becuase they're trying to provide a living for their kids? Let's fine them and take more money out of their family budget.

A good teacher will find a way to communicate with parents. More and more, I'm a fan of email for that, because trying to deconflict schedules for a face-to-face is a nightmare.

If Texas implements this, (and if they ban hunting,) I'm moving to California

-- Edited by Roper at 22:15, 2007-02-01

TitusTodd · Senior Member

I can't believe this is even up for consideration and I can't imagine it passing.

If Texas implements this, (and if they ban hunting,) I'm moving to California
It would take more than that to get me to move to California. I picture California doing it before Texas.

rayb · Hot Air Balloon

I think this is going in the wrong direction. This policy implies that parents should be involved in a child's education, but parents are too busy to be bothered with that sort of thing. Parents are more like tour directors, who work a lot to afford family vacations, and then spend their time taking their kids out of school to have vacations. Schools are just looking for any excuse to blame something in order to excuse their own failures as educators... If they'd stop trying to teach kids how to masturbate, they'd have time for things like math.

--Ray

Cat Herder · Understander of unimportant things

Ahhhh... ray... my virgin ears / eyes!

My guess is this, in light of the possibility of losing No Child Left Behind funding, is probably a move to raise revenue for schools without implementing a new tax and without having to expand the state lottery. Think about it... the school district decides to start holding parent teacher conferences on a monthly basis. For every 3 kids parents who then miss a conference, there's a couple new desk tops for the school's multi-media center / computer lab... or a new laptop for the principle's office staff... or a pop machine for the teacher's lounge with imported exotic carbonated beverages from Europe... or funds to cover expenses for the semi-annual district superintendent's staff boondoggle "inservice seminar" to Alcapulco for seven days...

Now, as to the homeschooling question Arbi brings up... you would then have to fine yourself $500 for not showing up to the parent teacher conference because you could not be there as both the teacher and the parent. You could only be one or the other, and since a parent is just not going to show up at school without an invitation by the teacher, you obviously will be at the homeschool parent teacher conference as the teacher. But since you can't be two people at the same time (as the wearing of two hats at the same time indicates humans can multi-task, and we all now that computers don't even really multi-task, they just jump from one task to the other really quickly), you can't also be the parent. Therefore, you will have to pay the school district $500, as that will be the fee for having a representative from the school district present to verify that you actually did try to hold a parent teacher conference (remember, must be compliant with the law), and they were witness to the fact the parent did not show up... only the home-schooling teacher, who it is only coincidence is biologically and/or legally related to the pupil.

crazymom5 · Senior Member

Actually Cat, a homeschooling parent can have a parent/teacher conference. I did all the time with dh. I acted as the teacher, he the parent! And when the 2 oldest both "graduated" from our school they received diplomas (designed by oldest ds), dh signed it as Superintendent of Schools and I signed it as Principal.

As for the topic at hand, I've only been to 1 of my youngest ds's parent/teacher conferences since he went back to public school last year. This is his second year and last semester was the first time I went to the conferences. He's a JR in high school. So, if a parent of a middle or high school student doesn't attend their child's conferences are they fined per teacher or ?

When all my kids were in public school though I did attend all the parent/teacher conferences, plus I volunteered at their schools.

rayb · Hot Air Balloon

I don't understand why it really matters, to tell you the truth. It's not like our country is doing much to prevent large masses of the population from entering the country with inadequate levels of Washingtonian-beauracracy-approved edumacation...

--Ray

PS> (Favorite Simpson's quote) "Me flunk English? That's unpossible!"

Cat Herder · Understander of unimportant things

It would have to be $500 per teacher per incident. Remember, the schools will need the greatest revenue generation possible. And no, unfortunately, in the home schooling situation, you can't have one parent be the teacher and the other be the parent at the conference. See, that infers parental neglect, because see one parent should always be out of the home to be earning money for supporting the child, and if both are there at the conference, then obviously the parents are not supporting the child in a manner the school is accustomed to them living.

"Less Artsy More Fartsy!" -- Homer

"I am so smart, I am so smart, s-m-r-t....I mean s-m-A-r-t." -- Homer

I Am Not Authorized to Fire Substitute Teachers -- Bart writing on the board