Missouri May Jail Parents If Children Miss School

The Missouri Supreme Court will rule on whether two single mothers were rightfully sentenced to time in prison after their children missed multiple days of school, according to a report from The Wall Street Journal.

The parents, Caitlyn Williams and Tamarae LaRue, are suing over the state’s compulsory school attendance law, which says that parents can face jail time if their children fail to regularly attend school. Williams was sentenced to seven days in jail after her six-year-old daughter missed 16 days of school during the 2021-2022 school year, while LaRue was sentenced to 15 days in jail, later changed to two years of probation, after her six-year-old son missed 13 days of school.

Assistant Attorney General Shaun Mackelprang, who is representing the state, argued before the Missouri Supreme Court that the definition of “a regular basis” is attending school every single day of the scheduled year.

“Do I have to go to school everyday? The answer is yes,” he said. “You have to go to school every day that the school is in session.”

A public defender representing the two, Ellen Flottman, argued that the law is unconstitutionally vague and inconsistently applied.

“The state’s position is anti-parent. Most of the school districts are not prosecuting these parents,” Flottman said last Wednesday. “Schools have to work with parents; they have to have policies because they want the kids to go to school.”

She continued, “But this is a kindergartener and a first grader. Is missing one day in November and one day in December going to hurt this kindergartener’s education that much?”