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Murphy – When Haley Revis took her kids to Zaxby’s on Nov. 11, she was expecting to bring home some fried chicken and iced tea. Instead, she was served an arrest warrant from the Murphy Police Department for truancy.
Revis was in shock. Her children sat in her car, watching as she was handcuffed and then ushered into the back seat of a patrol car. Her warrant stated two counts of school attendance law violation; one of the counts required a $10,000 secured bond for her release.
“I honestly didn’t know you could even go to jail for truancy,” Revis said, still surprised by the ordeal.
Her attendance issues began in the thick of remote learning during the COVID-19 pandemic. Her girls – ages 6 and 9 at the time – attended The Learning Center charter school.
“We were all confused,” Revis said, referring to the attendance policy during COVID. “I think they erroneously recorded attendance. It’s like they promised leniency and grace.”
Her household had internet connectivity issues, making it difficult for her to log in for the daily attendance requirement.
“It’s obvious to me that the log onto Google by 5 p.m. for attendance is where we messed up,” Revis said.
‘Working with us’
For her, the problem has two prongs. One, the school was unclear or changed their attendance requirements, and two, despite sharing custody with the girls’ father, she was the only parent arrested and charged.
“It was well into remote school [before] they even relayed to us how attendance was being taken,” Revis said. “First, it was class participation, then it changed to the log in by 5 p.m. to be counted in attendance.”
She said she had spoken with school officials about her challenges with internet connection.
“We didn’t have Wi-Fi at the time, so I felt assured they were working with us on this and as long as work was turned in, it would all work out,” Revis said.
In fact, she had no reason to believe it wasn’t working out. Her truancy violation occurred 180 days before her arrest. Her girls had already graduated to their next grade level by the time she was put into cuffs.
The Cherokee Scout reported that between July 2019 and July 2020, only seven Cherokee County School parents were arrested on attendance violations. But by March 2021, the number increased to 16 parents arrested for truancy.
Cherokee County Schools follows a progressive attendance policy that suspends students for two days once they meet the threshold for their age group of unexcused absences. If the transgressions continue, according to their policy manual, “the principal or a committee established by the principal shall consider whether the student’s grades should be reduced because of the absences.”
If the school assembles a committee, they can make recommendations to the principal regarding the severity of the punishment from offering additional time to make up the work to actually failing the entire semester. However, charter schools enforce a more stringent policy.
Following state law
Ryan Bender, head of school at The Learning Center, said, “As a public charter school, we follow the state law.”
The law requires that the school press charges against parents after 10 unexcused absences. However, the parents are offered multiple off-ramps on their way to the county jail.
“We send out a parent letter after three days of unexcused absences,” Bender said. “After six, we send another letter.”
If the student has four more unexcused absences, the school will then take court action. But, Bender added, “If the parent can prove they are making a good faith effort, we drop it.”
During COVID, “The Learning Center, shifted into EcoEd approved by the state as a blended learning opportunity. Remote or quarantine students check in for the day, counting present. We allow any kind of contact,” Bender said.
He added that for students who lacked a secure or stable internet connection, “We would accept phone calls in extreme cases. If you have absolutely no internet, you can turn in a week’s worth of work to be counted as present.”
This is just what Revis thought she was doing.
“I made the school aware that I did not yet have Wi-Fi to do remote school but that we would do our best to complete schoolwork as we could,” she said. “I was assured that as long as the assignments were turned in within a reasonable time period and it was clear we were making efforts to stay engaged with classwork, it was all good.”
Lack of communication
But, of course, it was not all good. Revis said when she read her arrest warrant, she was confused.
“My arrest warrant specifically notes three specific things that never happened,” she said. “One, the school never notified me of this at 10 days or three days or any other days; two, we never met with the ‘head of school’ or anyone else about truancy; and, three, I never received a call or letter from them. My first inclination about this was through the police department.”
Revis does concede that the school considered the girls’ father the primary contact source, so it’s possible the communication was sent to an incorrect address. Revis hopes her situation “can help shed some light on issues surrounding school attendance violations and the need for improvement in parental communication, especially in families that have separate households.”
This is of small consequence to Revis, who is still swirling in the aftermath of her criminal charges.
“I’ve had two court hearings since my arrest, having to pay for child care to attend,” she said, and the issue remains unresolved. “I feel like if I’m being held accountable for attendance violations, who’s there on that end to hold them accountable for record keeping? And what happened to the idea we’re all in this together and figuring it out?”
Bender said he is always “available to speak with parents to help resolve” any attendance or other issues.