Autistic girl who received hateful letter from classmate fined for attending Ski trip

[Mr Allen]

Link.

I just read this from a link on Facebook and was like, WTF?!

Thoughts?

 

[tree]

The girl's family was fined for the girl's
unexcused absence from school, not
actually for her presence on a trip.

The message in the card read
"I hat you." Apparently the sender
was trying for "hate" but failed.

 

[kay]

Unauthorized? Disturbing to think a parent needs a school's permission to send their kid to Italy. The trip offered more than the school could anyways.

 

[Streetwise]

Unauthorized? Disturbing to think a parent needs a school's permission to send their kid to Italy. The trip offered more than the school could anyways.

you get fined £60 if you take the child out of school during what they call term time it's just another way for the government to suck us dry

 

[kay]

you get fined £60 if you take the child out of school during what they call term time it's just another way for the government to suck us dry

That's horrible! And I think things are messed up over here.

 

[Judge]

Under the circumstances it would seem prudent to get such permission from a school in writing well ahead of time. Which would then serve as evidence in the event the school were to fine the parents anyways as a result of an inept bureaucracy.

However what if they deny authorizing a specific absence? Then I suppose the parents are on the hook. And one can be fined here for truancy in various states as well. More "creative" revenue gathering.

 

[kay]

Under the circumstances it would seem prudent to get such permission from a school in writing well ahead of time. Which would then serve as evidence in the event the school were to fine the parents anyways as a result of an inept bureaucracy.

However what if they deny authorizing a specific absence? Then I suppose the parents are on the hook. And one can be fined here for truancy in various states as well. More "creative" revenue gathering.

So glad I don't have kids. If there had been fines when I was a kid my mom would have been broke pretty quick.

 

[pjcnet]

I wouldn't pay it on principle even if I had plenty of money, I'd let them take me to court if they wanted, I doubt they'd dare because they know how bad it would make them look. It was a charity gift to help her in her bad situation at school, she needed it and shouldn't be punished under these circumstances.

 

[Streetwise]

That's horrible! And I think things are messed up over here.

there are supposed to be exceptional circumstances when it is allowed I wonder what hoops you have to jump through to be exceptional!
she now has the label autistic wonder what that will mean

 

[Judge]

I wouldn't pay it on principle even if I had plenty of money, I'd let them take me to court if they wanted, I doubt they'd dare because they know how bad it would make them look. It was a charity gift to help her in her bad situation at school, she needed it and shouldn't be punished under these circumstances.

In theory I'd agree. Though I'm wondering how they would actually handle unpaid fines.

I'm guessing they probably just pass them along to collection agencies. Though I suspect even in Britain they can't place any kind of lien or comment on a credit report prior to the matter being adjudicated in small claims court.

Though the school may also be able to keep your child from attending class indefinitely under such circumstances. Hmmmm. But it would be interesting to know what kind of real latitude a school has in granting or denying permission to leave class for a period of time.

 

[Mr Allen]

you get fined £60 if you take the child out of school during what they call term time it's just another way for the government to suck us dry

What gets me though is that it actually works out cheaper to pay the fine and take the kids on Holiday out of season than paying 3 times the price for the same Holiday during the Holiday season.

The likes of Thomas Cook's have got you by the Wallet strings.

 

[Suzanne]

Perhaps mum is on the spectrum too, because it is a literal way to think. She said that she assumed they gave their consent because of joking about taking them along, but that is how nts work and why, it confused mum when she got the fine.

It is a tricky one, because eductation is important to a child, but then again, so is happiness and the school obviously does not think about that aspect and MANY parents are fined for taking their children on wonderful experiences around the world and children are not autistic.

I am more upset with the cruel card and reminds me of my first crush in school and there on my desk was a valentines day card and stupid nieve me thought it was the crush and it ended up being a cruel trick and they laughed in my face when I read the card and said: that I was a no body, so why did I expect to get a card?

Children are often so very, very cruel and why I could never get on with them. I so get Ella.