If your child gets in trouble at school there are certain things parents or guardians need to know. This is true even if your student is at fault.
The Earl Carl Institute at Texas Southern University, in part, helps educate parents on student rights. (We explain how they help with property issues here.)
In this week’s Ask Amy, Amy Davis explains what to do when something goes wrong.
Often parents think if the student is in the wrong they don’t have rights
Sarah Guidry, Executive Director of the Earl Carl Institute says sometimes parents don’t think students have rights if they did something at school.
“And I’ll tell you, I remember a few years ago going to court and, I was a progressive judge, so he allowed us to be there on site for any parent to talk to us and get legal representation at the time of the hearing. And so when he announced we were there, another parents came for help. So I announced to the parents that just because your child did with the school is alleging does not mean that there aren’t other considerations. You don’t just need to plead guilty,” Sarah Guidry, Executive Director of the Earl Carl Institute.
Guidry says a row of parents got up to ask questions.
“I recall one case in particular where a child had been bullied and beaten and suffered, actually, some brain damage. It was not going to school. And, we were able to present that to the judge, and that case was dismissed on the spot. And so, there are incidents like that, but there are several factors to be considered. One is bullying and self-defense. If a child is suffering from homelessness, a part of foster care system. But the things that parents want to advise their child about, such as if there has been an incident at school. Do not voluntarily sign a written statement.”
The student should not sign anything at school before letting the parent or guardian know
The school should call the parent or guardian and wait until they are available to speak with someone. Your child should not be asked to sign anything without you there.
“Because what happens is we have a lot of incidents at school that turn into court cases. And so those, statements, those kinds of things that happen, they end up being used against your child in the juvenile court system. Where is the justice of the peace corps, the municipal court or the district court? And, that’s the part that we have a lot of concern about, is that entry from, what we call the school to prison pipeline. And so, we try to disrupt that through advocacy. We have a project called safe and supportive schools’ collaboration.”
“We’re the lead organization, but we’re working with other organizations around Houston. For example, Disability Rights Texas. If you have a child that has a disability, they have certain, procedural steps that have to be followed before your child can be disciplined. We work with Mental Health America. We try to make changes that are going to impact, a number of students and not just that individual student.”
The Earl Carl Institute has a handy guide to help parents and guardians see exactly what to do if they have questions. See here:
We also learned about property rights and what Houstonians should know about generational property. Check out the full Ask Amy Episode here.