Excerpts from the Fort Worth Star-Telegram (newspaper) -
Sunday February 4, 2001
"Truancy crackdown...."[ Page 1, Section A ]
HALTOM CITY - Jan Totin cried when a judge [ Haltom City
Municipal Judge Jack Byno ] told her that she had 30 minutes
to pay $ 2,000 in truancy-related fines OR she would spend
22 days in jail....
Her son, Trent Totin, had 24 unexcused abscences from Haltom
High School -- [which] were....reduced when a doctor's
notes were provided." "Trent Totin (17) was still left
with two citations against himself, and two citations
against his mother, Jan, accusing her of thwarting
compulsory attendance law, which with court fees,
totaled more than $ 2,000......" "Jan Totin's sister,
Cindi Higgins, said, "We've got people dealing drugs out
there, and we are going to put people in jail for 'two'
unexcused absecences....."
Bill Kidd, a retired Keller School District Adminstrator and
Attendance Officer said, "It wasn't always like this....",
"[before], school administrators, including himself,
'ignored' unexcused absenses."
"The State [ of Texas ] pays schools $ 15 daily for each
student in attendance.".... "Students must be in class
90 % of the time to earn credit."
"Truancy has been illegal in Texas since 1973. But it was
'civil law' ...judges could NOT impose fines. In 1995,
the state added 'failure to attend school' and 'thwarting
compulsary attendance; to the 'Education Law'," [ which
'criminalized' school absences, a Clsss "C" misdemeanor.]
[ explainations and empahsis added]
"....Most judges put first time offenders on probation....
If the student misses school again, the parents will pay
fines."
"Haltom City Judge Jack Byno....is the ONLY judge in Northeast
Tarrant County who asks the attendance officer to cite
the student AND the parents in EVERY instance. Other judges
leave that to the discreation of attendance officers."
Sunday February 4, 2001
"Haltom Judge says he is 'tough but fair'...."[ Page 27, Section A ]
[Jack Byno is the current Haltom City Municipal City Judge ]
"Byno, the father of two boys and a girl, splits
[his] time between the Haltom City courtroom AND the law
practice he shares with his wife, [at] BYNO & BYNO in Bedford."
As a 'lawyer', he defends clients who are accused of
'drunken driving', 'speeding' and 'violating city codes'
As a 'judge', he depenses decisions about 'traffic tickets',
people who don't cut their lawns', and 'STUDENTS' who
do NOT attend school."
"[Byno, 34]....who graduated from the Southern Illinois
University School of Law, [said] 'I am never going to please
everyone, so I need to do what I think is best for those
students. [ empasis added]
"Others disagree. Jan Totin was fined $ 2,285 in December (2000)
in Haltom City Municipal Court for 'thwarting the compulsary
attendance law' . Her 17 year old son....suffers from 'migraine
headaches' after a 'childhood brain injury', [and] was cited
for 'failure to attend school'.....[Jan Totin said] I've never
seen anyone [Judge Byno] so condescending...."
NOTES:
[1] Texas Education Code 25.085
"Compulsary School Attendance"
A child must be in school everyday of the school year.
"...Children 'can' be cited for failure to attend school"
[2] Texas Education Code 25.093
Thwarting Compulsary Attendance Law
"Parents are required to send their children to school.
If they fail to do so 'after written warnings', they
'can' be cited with 'thwarting compulsary attendance law',
a 'class C misdemeanor'. [The ] 'maximum fine' is $ 500 per
citation". [emphasis added]
(
geocities.com/SouthBeach)