The Hansen family is
breathing a sigh of relief tonight after a tense, emotional five days. Last Thursday, the Hansens received a summons
from the Dodge County Attorney informing them that their 13-year-old son,
Christopher, was being charged with habitual truancy and ordered to appear in
court in just seven days. Even though
habitual truancy is defined in case law as “the willful unexcused refusal of a
pupil to attend school in defiance of parental authority and in violation of an
applicable compulsory school attendance law” and every one of Christopher’s absences was for medical reasons, the
school social worker had turned Christopher in to the County Attorney for
prosecution. Not only did she turn him
in, she failed to conduct the required family meeting in advance of throwing
him into the juvenile justice system. In
fact, the social worker has never even personally met Christopher or his
parents.
The legal summons served on
Christopher was very ominous. Not only
was a guardian ad litem assigned, but even more shocking and frightening was
that Christopher was Mirandized like a common criminal.
The last five days have been very
tough for young Christopher, who suffers from serious illnesses for which he is
being treated by several doctors. In
spite of being sick for 50 days this school year, Christopher has a 3.4 GPA! He is a smart and sweet young man who has
done nothing wrong and did not deserve to be treated this way.
Thankfully, late this afternoon the Hansens were
notified that the charges against Christopher have been dismissed.
The NFF would like to thank
State Senator Charlie Janssen for intervening in this case. When Senator Janssen heard about this attack
on Christopher, he immediately went to bat for the Hansen family and contacted
Fremont Public Schools and the County Attorney.
Senator Janssen and his legislative aide, Chris, really went the extra
mile for the Hansens and their assistance is greatly appreciated.
The NFF is also grateful that the
Dodge County Attorney was reasonable enough to recognize that this child was
not truant and did not deserve to be prosecuted. The County Attorney was very kind and
courteous during my conversation with him and his swift action to resolve this
case fairly is appreciated.
As for Fremont Public Schools….well….let’s
just say there are issues that need to be addressed from the top down. We are pleased that the superintendent
acknowledged his staff had made errors in this case, including providing the
Hansens with inaccurate legal information and not facilitating the appropriate
meetings prior to turning Christopher over to law enforcement. We are also glad that the superintendent had
the social worker contact the county attorney and request that charges not be
pursued.
However, during my
conversation with the superintendent, he repeatedly justified the actions of
Fremont Public Schools by saying that although the law doesn’t require
them to turn in sick kids, the law allows them to.
Apparently the fact that
Christopher is an excellent student who has kept up with his school work doesn’t
matter—he was absent 50 days. Apparently
the fact that Christopher has three siblings in the school system who do not
have attendance issues doesn’t matter—he was absent 50 days. Apparently the fact that Christopher’s mother
was in constant contact with the school about Christopher’s illnesses doesn't
matter—he was absent 50 days. The superintendent
staunchly stuck to his position that Christopher was absent 50 days and they
had every right to turn him over to the courts.
My response to the
superintendent of Fremont Public Schools is:
Just because you have the
right doesn’t mean it is right.
The stress and emotional
damage visited upon this innocent child and his family were completely avoidable and
completely inexcusable. Another child
has been betrayed by those who are entrusted with his care. The relationship between the school district
and this fine family has been irretrievably damaged. Because there is no acknowledgement by the school district that their actions were wrong, there is also no guarantee that this won't happen again to Christopher or to other innocent children in the future.
But today the news is good—Christopher
is free from these false charges.