To: Governor Gavin Newsom
Overturn Senate Bill 1357, Senate Bill 1317 Chronic Absence vs. Chronic Truancy
Overturn Senate Bill 1357 and Senate Bill 1317 - Chronic Absence and Chronic Truancy laws because it criminalizes parents of sick, disabled or when a family member is facing a health crisis.
Why is this important?
What’s made the bill controversial is a provision for criminal penalties–a fine of up to $2,000 or a jail term of up to a year–for parents ..
"-Given that students with special health needs often miss chunks of school, this is a poor idea. There is a fundamental misunderstanding of how health issues impact children with asthma, diabetes, bipolar, leukemia, sleep disturbances, autism with severe anxiety, and school phobia. Parents overall do not make these issues up. They are real and require medical management. There are not even sufficient medical public health nurses to create IEP medical plans. Truancy charges against special needs children are discriminatory and even if a parent has all the medical excuses, parents are still having CPS called on them. This is not acceptable."
"-I agree. I believe the wrong people are being targeted and charged with truancy. I have 3 kids, 2 have asthma and are always sick and missing school. I was brought into a meeting last year and put on a contract, forcing my child to go to school even when sick because I had too many excused absences, for which I have provided a doctors note. This resulted in my son developing pneumonia and was hospitalized for a week. The 2nd day his asthma and pneumonia was so bad I had 5 doctors working on my son debating whether or not to put him in ICU. Talk about scary….Education is very important to me, I want the best for my kids, but if they’re sick, they’re sick. Yet I’m told excused absences are excessive. My doctor disagrees, they’re telling me my child is too sick to be in school and is concerned about illnesses like the flu and strep throat being spread. Who will protect me and my kids? Any illness results in asthma being triggered and I know I am not the only parent who is being told they have to send their kids to school no matter what! It’s ridiculous. In addition I was told me being hospitalized was not a valid excuse for my kids to miss 1 day. The closest family member I had to care for my kids was not local and did not have the transportation to get them to school. My kids were truant? I don’t think so!"
"-Given that students with special health needs often miss chunks of school, this is a poor idea. There is a fundamental misunderstanding of how health issues impact children with asthma, diabetes, bipolar, leukemia, sleep disturbances, autism with severe anxiety, and school phobia. Parents overall do not make these issues up. They are real and require medical management. There are not even sufficient medical public health nurses to create IEP medical plans. Truancy charges against special needs children are discriminatory and even if a parent has all the medical excuses, parents are still having CPS called on them. This is not acceptable."
"-I agree. I believe the wrong people are being targeted and charged with truancy. I have 3 kids, 2 have asthma and are always sick and missing school. I was brought into a meeting last year and put on a contract, forcing my child to go to school even when sick because I had too many excused absences, for which I have provided a doctors note. This resulted in my son developing pneumonia and was hospitalized for a week. The 2nd day his asthma and pneumonia was so bad I had 5 doctors working on my son debating whether or not to put him in ICU. Talk about scary….Education is very important to me, I want the best for my kids, but if they’re sick, they’re sick. Yet I’m told excused absences are excessive. My doctor disagrees, they’re telling me my child is too sick to be in school and is concerned about illnesses like the flu and strep throat being spread. Who will protect me and my kids? Any illness results in asthma being triggered and I know I am not the only parent who is being told they have to send their kids to school no matter what! It’s ridiculous. In addition I was told me being hospitalized was not a valid excuse for my kids to miss 1 day. The closest family member I had to care for my kids was not local and did not have the transportation to get them to school. My kids were truant? I don’t think so!"