Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Arrest of Homeless Connecticut Woman for Enrolling Son in School Illegally Sparks Debate - FoxNews.com

Arrest of Homeless Connecticut Woman for Enrolling Son in School Illegally Sparks Debate - FoxNews.com:
"A Connecticut mother who says she wanted to give her son a better education will be arraigned on Wednesday on charges for enrolling the 6-year-old in another town, sparking outrage and support from people nationwide. ..."
This seems a little disproportionate. She faces up to 20 years in prison for the offense of trying to do what was best for her child. The mayor of Norfolk seems to dismiss any issues with the appropriateness by noting her "checkered past" (which does include a recent arrest for marijuana possession and a 10-year-old conviction for robbery).

But what of her 6-year-old son? Does HE have a checkered past? Is he better off in "the system" and getting shunted from school to school with the vagaries of the foster care system -- assuming he is able to be placed at all?

There really ought to be a more humane way to deal with this problem than to charge the mother with the felony theft of $15,686 (the value that the Norfolk schools place on about three months of education.)

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