Letter threatens arrest over 12-year-old's missed Zoom class, Bay Area dad says
Letter threatens arrest over 12-year-old's missed Zoom class, Bay Area dad says
LAFAYETTE, Calif. (KGO) -- A parent in the East
Bay city says a letter he received from his son's middle school, threatening
the boy's arrest for missing less than two hours of Zoom class, is total
overkill.
The school principal told ABC7 News, her administration had no choice but to
send the letter, given new state guidelines around keeping better track of
attendance as California public schools continue with mostly virtual learning.
"This is our fourth child going through this middle school and out of the
blue, we got a letter," explained Lafayette parent Mark Mastrov.
Mastrov received the letter after his seventh-grader missed exactly three
30-minute Zoom sessions, one day last month.
"He can become a truant of the state and he could be arrested,"
explained Mastrov, who said he immediately called an administrator at Stanley
Middle School. "I said, 'Are you going to come and try to arrest my son at
my home, or fine me for not getting him to his Zoom class perfectly, on time
everyday?'"
Like his classmates at Stanley, Merek Mastrov spends up to seven hours a day
attending virtual school via Zoom.
The letter from a Stanley administrator lists
the three periods Merek missed and says, "When a student is absent without
a valid excuse, the student is considered truant according to California
law."
And down below, the letter lists six possible
consequences, including:
"The pupil may be subject to arrest under Education Code Section
48264."
The principal at Stanley Middle School told us the letter is the result of new
state guidelines passed this past summer, CA Senate Bill 98, which requires
districts to keep a closer eye on student attendance.
Reached by phone, Principal Betsy Balmat told us, "The letter is part of
our responsibility to the state for our student attendance review boards. As
always, the schools have a responsibility to ensure students are engaged and
learning."
Balmat also said the Mastrovs should've received a phone call first, giving
them a chance to clear their son's absences.
Mastrov told us he never received such a call and he's heard from other
Lafayette parents who've received similar letters.
Now, he's writing to lawmakers, urging a change in state law.
"Obviously we're in a pandemic and Gov. Newsom is trying to manage
it," said Mastrov, "but if the state of California is focusing on
arresting 12-year-old children for missing 90 minutes of school in ten months,
it's ridiculous."
California public schools traditionally rely on daily attendance numbers for
their state and federal funding.
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