Most of us have taken our children out of school at one time or another for a family trip, and most schools are accommodating granted you give them ample notice and agree to do work while gone. Did you know that it’s possible to end up in court, or even jail for being gone too long?
Jessica Smith, a 48-year-old single mom from Washington, D.C. found this out the hard way. For three years, her adopted son Ziggy has begged for a baby brother. She adopted him from an orphanage in Mongolia, and when they contacted her saying another little boy was available for adoption, she decided a trip was in order.
She wanted to take Ziggy with her since it would be a great opportunity to immerse him in his culture, and bringing him along also showed the orphanage proof of how well Ziggy was doing, improving the chances of another adoption.
She cleared the trip with the school Principal, and believed she was clear to go. Currently, D.C. law forbids parents from taking children out of school for longer than 10 consecutive days. Smith knew the trip would take longer than that because of legalities. She asked the school if this trip could be considered under the “emergency” umbrella. The principal lead her to believe that would be fine. She got the work necessary and even hired a tutor in Mongolia to help Ziggy with his work.
When they returned, Ziggy finished the second grade and began third grade in the fall. All was fine, until a few weeks ago when she was served with a summons to appear in court for criminal neglect charges. All because Ziggy was absent for 20 days a year ago. Apparently, the Principal had indeed signed a truancy referral after Ziggy and Jessica left.
Smith contacted the Principal who said it was all just a big miscommunication. He wrote a letter to the court and they eventually dismissed the case. However, Smith feels the strict truancy laws in D.C. should be focused on children who fall through the cracks due to truly neglectful parents, and says she has lost faith in the school system for punishing parents who have their child’s best interest at heart.
