Texas considers fines for parents who skip teacher conferences

AUSTIN, Texas — Playing hooky from a parent-teacher conference? Texas parents may have to find a good excuse.

A Houston-area legislator wants to subject parents to criminal charges for skipping a scheduled meeting with their child's teacher.

Rep. Wayne Smith, a Republican, said it is time for the state to crack down on Texans who are shirking their parental responsibilities by failing to meet with the teacher when their child is having academic or disciplinary problems.

Under the bill, parents who miss a scheduled conference with a teacher could be charged with a Class C misdemeanor and fined up to $500. Parents could avoid prosecution if they have a "reasonable excuse" for failing to show up. State education officials or school districts probably would be left to define what's reasonable.

Smith said his goal is not to punish parents but to get them to show up for meetings so they can communicate face to face about their child.

Hurdles remain before the bill becomes law. The House leader on education policy, Republican Rep. Rob Eissler, said he has concerns about specifics of how it would be enforced. But some parents and education groups say the goal is a good one.

Donna Holden, who has three sons in the Plano, Texas, school district, likes the idea: "Parents need to be in touch with what is going on in school, and they should be held accountable."

Other parents have reservations. "It sounds pretty harsh to me," said Heather Ashwell-Hair, president of the Carrollton-Farmers Branch Council of PTAs.

Leaders of teacher groups also questioned whether charging parents with a crime is the best solution. "We certainly appreciate the intent ... But we're not sure criminalizing their behavior is the way to achieve that," said Larry Comer, of the Association of Texas Professional Educators.