Civil Rights Criticism Filed In Texas Truancy Cases

Advocacy teams have filed a civil rights grievance along with the justice department on behalf of seven students in texas. the move was to protest policies under that students are spoken truancy court.

The grievance, filed wednesday by texas appleseed, the national center for youth law and disability rights texas — all nonprofit law centers — same that the truancy courts in dallas county had prosecuted a little more than 36, 000 students in four faculty districts, a little more than some other texas county.

The students, a few as young as 12, were prosecuted as adults, the grievance same, but not given any legal counsel. the grievance same that the districts — dallas, garland, mesquite and richardson — are violating the students’ civil rights which the truancy courts violates the students’ right to due method.

“you have the adults pushing kids into this court system that might ultimately spur them being locked up for terribly, terribly minor behavior, ” same michael harris, a senior lawyer along at the national center for youth law.

Within the statement, a spokesman for our dallas freelance faculty district, same that the district believed that “student attendance is essential to tutorial success. ” he added : “dallas i. s. d. adheres to all attendance policies set by your state and cooperates closely along with the office of civil rights. ”

A spokesman for our richardson freelance faculty district issued a statement, saying that the district “works proactively to educate students and oldsters about attendance expectations and truancy, ” adding, “when truancy things do occur, r. i. s. d. follows texas law. ”

Babetta hemphill, the director of student services and faculty alternative along at the garland freelance faculty district, same that the district viewed truancy court as “our terribly last resort. ” she same the schools “attempt to intervene and provides the family ample opportunity” to respond.

The truancy court “offers the most beneficial probability for truant students for getting in class and graduate, ” same judge clay jenkins of dallas county.