Woonsocket Education Department Will Stop Sending Children To Unlawfully Operated Rhode Island Truancy Courts After ACLU Files Lawsuit
Group Continues Legal Challenge To System That Denies Children Basic Due Process
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Maria Archuleta, ACLU, (212) 519-7808 or 549-2666; media@aclu.org
Steven Brown, ACLU of Rhode Island, (401) 831-7171; riaclu@riaclu.org
WOONSOCKET, RI – Following a class-action lawsuit filed in March by the American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU of Rhode Island, the Woonsocket Education Department has agreed to stop sending children to Rhode Island's unlawfully operated truancy court system and to end its participation in the program completely. The ACLU lawsuit charges that the state's truancy court system is devoid of due process protections for children in violation of state and federal law.
"We're relieved that the Woonsocket Education Department will no longer be sending children who miss any amount of school, even for legitimate reasons like medical or emotional difficulties, to a punitive court system devoid of due process," said Robin L. Dahlberg, senior staff attorney with the ACLU Racial Justice Program. "Needlessly pushing children into the juvenile justice system only increases the likelihood that they will ultimately end up in the criminal justice system."
As part of the settlement agreement, the Woonsocket Education Department will:
- cease their involvement with the Rhode Island Truancy Court program; and
- seek dismissal of all truancy cases involving Woonsocket public school students.
While the department still has the ability to refer truant children to family court, it has also agreed to:
- undertake educationally sound corrective measures to address truancy within the school setting before referring children to court;
- follow state law in referring to court only those children who are "willfully and habitually" absent, defined in the settlement agreement as being absent more than 10 times in a semester and for reasons other than illness, family emergencies or other good cause;
- cease immediately the financially burdensome and physician-rejected practice of requiring all medical absences to be documented with a doctor's note; and
- follow state law in giving proper notice of hearings to families referred to the court.
The ACLU's lawsuit challenging the abuse of truancy courts is still pending against a number of state family court officials, truancy court magistrates and five other school districts including Providence. The lawsuit charges that the truancy courts are excessively punitive in nature, and that truancy court magistrates threaten vulnerable children and their parents with baseless fines and imprisonment, remove children from the custody of their parents without legal justification and fail to keep adequate records of court hearings. The lawsuit also charges that the court system disproportionately impacts children who have difficulty attending school or doing their schoolwork because of special education or medical needs.
"We hope that other Rhode Island school districts will follow Woonsocket's lead and seek more constructive means to help at-risk kids," said Steven Brown, Executive Director of the ACLU of Rhode Island. "The children of Rhode Island should be given every opportunity to succeed in school instead of being steered into a punitive and unconstitutionally implemented court system."
According to the lawsuit, many of the children forced to appear before truancy courts have not, in fact, been willfully or habitually absent from school. Instead they include children unable to attend school regularly due to severe or chronic medical conditions and children whose serious emotional conditions prevent full-time attendance. In some cases, they are children who have missed almost no school days at all, but who have been put into the truancy court system for such infractions as not doing their homework. Some children have been kept in the truancy court system for over two years without ever being given guidelines as to what they must do to be released from the court's supervision.
The hearings themselves are riddled with constitutional problems, as judicial officials, in violation of the law, fail to adequately inform children of charges that are filed against them, fail to conduct preliminary investigations into the charges as mandated by law and fail to inform children of a number of their constitutional rights.
Attorneys on the case, Boyer v. Jeremiah, include Dahlberg and Yelena Konanova of the ACLU Racial Justice Program, Deborah N. Archer of New York Law School and ACLU of Rhode Island cooperating attorneys Amy R. Tabor with the firm of Hardy, Tabor, and Chudacoff and Thomas W. Lyons with the firm of Strauss, Factor, Laing & Lyons.
Additional information about the case, including a copy of the settlement agreement and complaint, is available online at: www.aclu.org/racial-justice/boyer-v-jeremiah
Additional information about the Rhode Island affiliate of the ACLU is available online at:
Smart Justice
+2 Issues
Boyer v. Jeremiah
Learn More About the Issues in This Press Release
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Press ReleaseDec 2024
Smart Justice
ACLU Celebrates President Biden’s Clemency Announcement, Allowing Hundreds to Remain in Their CommunitiesACLU Celebrates President Biden’s Clemency Announcement, Allowing Hundreds to Remain in Their Communities
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Press ReleaseSep 2024
Criminal Law Reform
+2 Issues
Judge Orders Supervision System in Washington, D.C. to Accommodate People with DisabilitiesJudge Orders Supervision System in Washington, D.C. to Accommodate People with Disabilities
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Press ReleaseJul 2024
Smart Justice
Just City And Legal Advocates Challenge Tennessee’s Unprecedented Bail LawJust City And Legal Advocates Challenge Tennessee’s Unprecedented Bail Law
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Press ReleaseJul 2024
Reproductive Freedom
+2 Issues
Court Rejects Attempt to Dismiss Case Seeking Accountability for Wrongful Prosecution of AbortionCourt Rejects Attempt to Dismiss Case Seeking Accountability for Wrongful Prosecution of Abortion
McALLEN, Texas – A federal judge ruled today that a lawsuit seeking accountability for the unlawful investigation and prosecution of Lizelle Gonzalez can proceed, rejecting attempts by Starr County officials to have the case dismissed. Gonzalez, represented by Garza Martinez, the American Civil Liberties Union, and the ACLU of Texas was unlawfully arrested, jailed, and charged with murder after a medication abortion she had in 2022. The Starr County district attorney, assistant district attorney, and sheriff pursued and then obtained an unlawful indictment against Gonzalez even though they knew that Texas law clearly prohibits the criminal prosecution of pregnant women for conduct that ends their pregnancy. “When I first heard Lizelle’s story, I was outraged at the behavior of our elected officials,” said Cecilia Garza, attorney at Garza Martinez. “The court’s decision today to allow this case to proceed gives me hope that courts will not allow these types of egregious acts to continue. Law enforcement need to be held accountable to the laws that they took an oath to uphold.” In the motions to dismiss, the prosecutors and sheriff raised claims of legal immunity, a doctrine that they argue should insulate them from being held accountable for violating Gonzalez’s constitutional rights. The court denied their motions to dismiss, allowing Gonzalez’s case to proceed to the first stage of discovery concerning whether law enforcement can be held liable for violating her rights. “Immunity doctrine creates a culture in police departments and prosecutor offices where public officials may feel empowered to violate people’s rights, knowing they will face few – if any – consequences,” said Lauren Johnson, director of the ACLU’s Abortion Criminal Defense Initiative. “While immunity often obstructs victims of misconduct from attaining accountability, the court’s decision today to allow the case to proceed will give Lizelle a chance to pursue the justice she deserves for being unlawfully targeted and prosecuted.” “Texas is one of the most restrictive states in the country when it comes to abortion health care, but even in Texas, the laws are uniform and clear that pregnant women cannot be criminally liable for having an abortion,” said David Donatti, senior staff attorney for the ACLU of Texas. “We expect and demand that our elected officials follow the rule of law, and that is especially true for officials elected to enforce the laws with so much power over our daily lives and personal decisions.”