PARMA, Ohio — Parma City Schools adopted a little-known state policy for students who miss too many days of school; under this absentee policy, students could have their driver's licenses suspended, and one parent isn’t happy about it.
Michelle Iwan is a Parma City School alumni and has 3 kids in the same district, but an email she received regarding their new absentee policy has her questioning if it's time to change school districts.
“I’m angry because he's taking my right way as a parent, and I believe they’re taking their civil rights away. I think there's other ways around doing it,” Michelle said.
The new policy states that students 16 and older with 15 unexcused absences could get their license suspended.
Parma City Schools Superintendent Charles Smialek told News 5 they adopted the state policy back in May after 47% of their students missed more than 18 days in 2021 and 25% in 2022.
“We need our students here. There's so much research that shows you know, if you miss two days a month, your likelihood of passing classes and graduating on time really goes significantly down,” Smialek said.
According to the BMV, last year across Ohio, there were 255 license suspensions due to this policy. Smialek adds that the emphasis is on unexcused.
“This is 15 days without a legitimate reason. So if your parent is taking the time to call in and a student's sick and there are different circumstances,” Smialek said.
Once a student reaches that benchmark, the superintendent will have a hearing with the student and the parents.
“If there's some way that they can convince me, you know, as somebody who's going to fill out the forum, that they've got this under control, and they they're going to solve it well, then that's that's one conversation,” Smialek said.
If not, he'll report to the BMV who will either suspend or prohibit the teen from getting a license, which parents like Michelle are completely against
“You have homes today where two parents are working, and that child wants to work, and you want to take his license away, and what if he might lose his job,” Michelle said.
The superintendent understands students have other responsibilities but adds that school should be a priority. Michele sees that importance and stands firm that this isn't the way to get kids in the classroom.
“They force them to stay for credit recovery, don’t give them an option, make them do it; that would make more sense than taking their license away,” Michelle said.
If a student's license is suspended, they can get it back once they show improved attendance... A license can also be suspended for things like drugs, alcohol, or weapons on campus.
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