Here is the rest of the story. “New Jersey Supreme rules parents are not responsible” When schools dismiss the whole day for weather events the parents are upset because it upsets their plans. I have an idea. Don’t have children and you can aviod both the inconvience and responsibility that comes with having children. You will also avoid the inconvience of grandchildren and wondering who will take care of you later in your life.
What a disgusting ruling. It bascially absolves parents of any and all responsibility of their children and places it all in the lap of the school. What pure B.S. I hope they appeal and fight this bogus decision. If you can’t take care of your children maybe you should have had any in the first place.
I felt the same way until I read that it was an early dismissal. I’m sorry, I think we need tort reform and all, but it seems to me that this is not at all unreasonable. Students should have been sent home with a slip for parents to sign indicating that school would let out early on that day to ensure the wellbeing of the children in its care. In loco parentis means that they are to be as careful for the children as their parents would be, and the parents were obviously not in the habit of letting this boy run wild with no supervision.
Exactly — if the parents don’t have notice that school will be dismissed early, they don’t have the opportunity to be responsible for their children. Unless LR and MaryB are suggesting that parents go to school with their children every day and wait at the school gates for dismissal, the parents have to have a way of knowing *when* their children are leaving school custody.
Now, when this goes to trial, I would not be surprised to see that the school has a defense — I’ve never attended a NJ school, but every school I or my children have attended has sent home calendars, notices of upcoming holidays and early dismissals, etc. If it turns out this school really provided no notice of an early dismissal, then the school was clearly negligent. If the school did provide multiple notices and the parents simply forgot, that’s the parents’ negligence. But that’s a question of fact for the trial.
I don’t know about elsewhere, but in the midwest, every time a school is to be let out for weather related reasons it is announced on TV, the radio stations, on a website dedicated to school closings and a blast email is sent to the parents of children in the schools.
I do realize that some do not have access to the above at their jobs and that is understandable, but parents should always have a backup system in place for instances such as this. It is not the school’s responsibility that this kid was playing in the street.
Can you imagine being a school administrator if this ruling holds? You will basically have to babysit all students until their parents are able to pick up their kids so that you can transfer responsibility to them.
I’m certain that the school did send a note home for the parents advising of the early release…they probably sent it home with the kid himself, and knowing how kids operate sometimes I’ll wager the note was lost by the kid, or never found its way out of his backpack, or the parents never thought to look through his backpack or school bag to see what their kid was doing in school. In my mind there is no substitute for parental responsibility and the notion that parents can shuck this duty off on schools or malls or friends and relatives is absolute BS.
This one has a rather easy solution. Dollars. Initiate a broad letter to parents authorizing the school to dismiss etc. As an alternative in the letter if the parent decides not to sign the waiver, the school will hold the children in the gym or caf. at a rate of $25/hour. Parent will be called as to where their child is.
Money talks but this story is just tragic as one where no money can fix.
My faith in humanity has been restored by the comments of the majority on this issue. A critical piece of information needed to make an informed judgment is missing, that being the circumstances of how the kid got hit. Was the driver negligent? Did the kid usually walk to school? If so, it shouldn’t matter what time school let out.
Having been a member of multiple school boards and having a wife who is a teacher, I would find it a rare situation when a school let out early for anything but a weather emergency. It’s a fact of life that people put their careers/jobs before their children when a school is involved. They mistakenly rely on the school and the teachers to be their default baby sitters. God forbid the parents are inconvenienced by an early dismissal. Teachers aren’t paid to baby-sit students until parents arrive. In spite of “fines” for being late, parents never pay them anyway. The simple truth is, if you decided to have a family, you made the comittment to take care of your children. If you need to compromise your career so bit. Otherwise, as one respondent correctly pointed out, why did you have kids in the first place? It may sound harsh, but too may working parents “want it all” but don’t want to pay the price.
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Here is the rest of the story. “New Jersey Supreme rules parents are not responsible” When schools dismiss the whole day for weather events the parents are upset because it upsets their plans. I have an idea. Don’t have children and you can aviod both the inconvience and responsibility that comes with having children. You will also avoid the inconvience of grandchildren and wondering who will take care of you later in your life.
What a disgusting ruling. It bascially absolves parents of any and all responsibility of their children and places it all in the lap of the school. What pure B.S. I hope they appeal and fight this bogus decision. If you can’t take care of your children maybe you should have had any in the first place.
Finally, a voice of reason. Why is everyone responsible for every child in every way with the possible exception of its conception?
I felt the same way until I read that it was an early dismissal. I’m sorry, I think we need tort reform and all, but it seems to me that this is not at all unreasonable. Students should have been sent home with a slip for parents to sign indicating that school would let out early on that day to ensure the wellbeing of the children in its care. In loco parentis means that they are to be as careful for the children as their parents would be, and the parents were obviously not in the habit of letting this boy run wild with no supervision.
Exactly — if the parents don’t have notice that school will be dismissed early, they don’t have the opportunity to be responsible for their children. Unless LR and MaryB are suggesting that parents go to school with their children every day and wait at the school gates for dismissal, the parents have to have a way of knowing *when* their children are leaving school custody.
Now, when this goes to trial, I would not be surprised to see that the school has a defense — I’ve never attended a NJ school, but every school I or my children have attended has sent home calendars, notices of upcoming holidays and early dismissals, etc. If it turns out this school really provided no notice of an early dismissal, then the school was clearly negligent. If the school did provide multiple notices and the parents simply forgot, that’s the parents’ negligence. But that’s a question of fact for the trial.
I don’t know about elsewhere, but in the midwest, every time a school is to be let out for weather related reasons it is announced on TV, the radio stations, on a website dedicated to school closings and a blast email is sent to the parents of children in the schools.
I do realize that some do not have access to the above at their jobs and that is understandable, but parents should always have a backup system in place for instances such as this. It is not the school’s responsibility that this kid was playing in the street.
Can you imagine being a school administrator if this ruling holds? You will basically have to babysit all students until their parents are able to pick up their kids so that you can transfer responsibility to them.
I’m certain that the school did send a note home for the parents advising of the early release…they probably sent it home with the kid himself, and knowing how kids operate sometimes I’ll wager the note was lost by the kid, or never found its way out of his backpack, or the parents never thought to look through his backpack or school bag to see what their kid was doing in school. In my mind there is no substitute for parental responsibility and the notion that parents can shuck this duty off on schools or malls or friends and relatives is absolute BS.
I wonder how NO STUDENT is so “certain
the school did send a note”?
This one has a rather easy solution. Dollars. Initiate a broad letter to parents authorizing the school to dismiss etc. As an alternative in the letter if the parent decides not to sign the waiver, the school will hold the children in the gym or caf. at a rate of $25/hour. Parent will be called as to where their child is.
Money talks but this story is just tragic as one where no money can fix.
My faith in humanity has been restored by the comments of the majority on this issue. A critical piece of information needed to make an informed judgment is missing, that being the circumstances of how the kid got hit. Was the driver negligent? Did the kid usually walk to school? If so, it shouldn’t matter what time school let out.
Having been a member of multiple school boards and having a wife who is a teacher, I would find it a rare situation when a school let out early for anything but a weather emergency. It’s a fact of life that people put their careers/jobs before their children when a school is involved. They mistakenly rely on the school and the teachers to be their default baby sitters. God forbid the parents are inconvenienced by an early dismissal. Teachers aren’t paid to baby-sit students until parents arrive. In spite of “fines” for being late, parents never pay them anyway. The simple truth is, if you decided to have a family, you made the comittment to take care of your children. If you need to compromise your career so bit. Otherwise, as one respondent correctly pointed out, why did you have kids in the first place? It may sound harsh, but too may working parents “want it all” but don’t want to pay the price.