Inform Article

Punishing Parents for Their Children's Failures: What’s the Appropriate Reprimand?

07.31.2012
Posted by Leon Fooksman of yourPBC.org

Teachers and schools are evaluated, graded, and even punished at times for their failures in educating children.

So why not do the same for parents who fail to prepare their children for school?

At a time when so many students are failing out of school, legislators are starting to take aim at parents their for role in the chronic problems facing our education system.

In Florida, Kelli Stargel, R-Lakeland, got a lot of attention earlier this year when she introduced a bill that would have required teachers to grade parents in three categories: the frequency with which a student is late or absent; the parent's response to requests for conferences or communication; and the accuracy of a student's records. The grades would be "satisfactory," "needs improvement," or "unsatisfactory."

Other states have already gone much further in enacting laws aimed at improving parental involvement in their children's education. Alaska fines parents for a child's absence from school. In California, a misdemeanor charge can be brought against a parent if the truancy is blatant.

Do you think parents in Palm Beach County - where close to 20 percent of students drop out of school - need to be punished for their children's school failure?

If so, how far would you go in reprimanding them?

Share your thoughts below. You can also post your ideas on Twitter using the hashtag #ParentalInvolvement and on our Facebook page.

Your input is very important. We'll be sharing your comments with policy makers who are interested in school reform issues.