Parents of children who miss virtual classes are getting reported to social services agencies

• As coronavirus risks persists, many school districts will only open for remote learning, or will offer a hybrid model.
• Parents in these cases face mounting stress as school officials may call social services agencies if children miss numerous online classes.
• These reports disproportionately impact Black, Latino, and low-income families.
• Charges of neglect can lead to children being removed from their homes.

As September approaches, and coronavirus risks persist, many school districts across the US are either solely offering online courses or are working with a hybrid model, where students attend school in person some weeks and learn remotely the remainder of the time.

The stakes will be especially high: Parents of children who miss numerous online classes may get reported to their local social services agencies. These reports, which proportionately impact Black, Latino, and low-income families, can potentially lead to children being removed from their homes.

Some advocates and families say that school officials are quick to turn in parents without taking into consideration factors that are out of the families' control, like balancing job responsibilities with overseeing school work.

Parents who didn't have devices were reported when their children missed classes

In New York City, just several weeks after schools shut down in March, several parents were reported to the state child neglect and abuse hotline after their kids didn't sign on for their remote classes, The City reported. Some of those families were visited by the Administration for Children's Service.

In one case, a mother of a kindergartner was still waiting for her child's device to be delivered from the Department of Education in order for her son to participate in his classes.

"People are sort of being told two things, which is: 'It's OK to do the best you can. You know, you're not being expected to do more than what's possible,'" Gabriel Freiman, whose clients at Brooklyn Defenders were the subjects of such reports, told The City. "And also: 'If you can't do the things that were requested, do you know you'll get a report against you called in.'"

Dozens of families in Massachusetts were also reported to state social workers for possible neglect charges because their children had missed several remote sessions, the Boston Globe reported.

In most of the cases, the incidents were filed only because the students missed repeated classes, according to the Globe, and several of the parents had no other previous cases with social service agencies.

However, officials from several school districts disputed that fact and told the Globe that they didn't report any parents just because their children missed some online classes.

A Black teen was jailed after she didn't complete her homework and skipped some remote classes

One of the most controversial cases related to truancy during the pandemic occurred in Michigan when Grace, a Black teenager, was sent to juvenile detention after failing to complete some school assignments and for sleeping late and missing classes on several occasions.

The high school sophomore, who has special needs, was sent to Children's Village in Pontiac in May when a judge deemed her absences and incomplete homework a violation of her probation from previous discretions.

Advocates and journalists who fought for Grace's release, which happened in July, said this was a prime example of racial discrimination that occurs among minority children, which has been exacerbated during the pandemic.

"Throughout this pandemic, the injustices underlying so many of our systems have risen to the surface, and the people's voice has risen just as swiftly to proclaim they must end," Congressman Andy Levin, who represents the Oakland County district where Grace lives, wrote in a statement.

• Read more:
• A Black teen didn't do her online schoolwork during the pandemic. A judge sent her to juvenile detention.
• Why you should think twice before starting a 'pandemic pod' for your kids instead of school in the fall
• I'm white. My sons are black. The Central Park incident confirmed that my kids won't be safe anywhere.