The title of this post is the headline to an
Austin Statesman article published yesterday about a dispute over how much information Texas youth prisons must give school districts about paroled juveniles when they get back to the free world and go back to class:
Spurred by threats of an Austin lawsuit, the Texas Youth Commission has asked the attorney general to determine how much information must be disclosed when paroled offenders arrive at a new school.
The Austin Independent School District wants the commission to reveal more information about an Anderson High School student who is on parole for a felony weapons violation in another county. The unnamed student transferred to Anderson in August.
The school was informed, though belatedly, that the student was paroled after a weapons violation, but AISD wants to know "where [the crime] took place and what kind of weapon was involved." The Statesman's Chuck Lindell added this analysis:
State law requires the commission to provide schools with a "statement of the offense" when a paroled youth arrives at a new school. The Youth Commission believes that simply naming the type of crime satisfies the requirement.
The Austin school district counters that the spirit of the law requires far more disclosure to help schools provide security and tailor programs to the paroled student's educational and behavioral needs.
Unable to come to a resolution, the commission asked Attorney General Greg Abbott for a formal opinion clarifying the scope of the disclosure requirements.
"In most cases, schools are satisfied with (knowing only the name of the crime)," Cherie Townsend, executive director of the Youth Commission, told Abbott by letter. "Until now, no school had ever claimed the legal right to more information from TYC."
.jpg)
23 comments:
I don't think the request of the school district is that unreasonable. Considering what happened with the TYC parolee in Tyler last year, the district should be provided the information they seek.
That's an excellent point. I have mixed feelings about this question. You can point to extreme instances as in Tyler where it's justified, but if it's the rule for every juvenile offender there would be too many unintended consequences. Hard to know where to draw the line.
Perhaps we should just change the notification law and allow the TYC, the local school district and local school officials to be held culpable and financially responsible in the event such a student engages in actions that harm others. The TYC's view that failing to provide full disclosure is just idiotic. Students that are paroled from TYC deserve every opportunity to succeed and schools having complete information regarding their crime is not unrealistic - such should be required. Just because no other school district has asked for such is a poor reason not to automatically provide such information.
To me this suggests the need for a closer working relationship between school districts and TYC to help paroled juveniles transition back into the community.
Reading this article reminded me that the institutional barriers between them can be unhelpful.
BB
This tells me Cherie Townsend doesn't give a damn about public protection and the safety of our kids in public school.
Another example of lack of leadership in being a partner in our communities. We MUST develop relationships with all aspects of our communities in order to stand a chance of intervening in the lives of juveniles and affecting so many victims!
I find it interesting that the reason this has even come forward is that the AISD student is at Anderson HS. For all of these years the students from TYC have been placed all over Austin at other campus' and we have been made to accept these students. But because this student "Stands out" as not like the others.. The campus is insisting on more details.. This student has served his time and deserves to get on with his life and his rights protected.
Has he served his time, or is he on parole? When a juvenile probationer moves to another school district, information regarding the offense is provided. Why would it be any different for a TYC parolee?
I think that once a student has been committed to TYC and is on TYC parole that they don't need to provide information to the school. I think the label is enough to sink a youth and not give them the chance. If the parole officer thinks notifying the school district is necessary then go ahead. Otherwise let these youth try to move on with their lives
It is not a good point about the student in Tyler. The Tyler community had every notification from TYC. It was the community mental health program that dropped the ball.
8:36, you are incorrect. TYC dropped the ball by not ensuring a continuity of MH treatment once the juvenile left TYC on a 1550 discharge. TYC should have done a better job of actively ensuring the juvenile had adequate treatment lined up in the community!
He should have never been released back into the community!!
"Statement of the offense" does not mean the title of the penal code section that he violated. It's common sense and used in other contexts besides this one.
From the looks of the web site for Anderson High School in AISD, I would venture to speculate this High School hasn’t dealt with any casualties from the war on drugs. If they have its been done quietly without the destructive moral baselessness of law enforcement getting involved. I’m a huge advocate that environmental changes help to promote life style changes. If a kid can go to a better school, or simply go to college when getting the boot from tyc, there is a good chance he can get out of the system. Sending a kid back to the ghetto and the prison like public schools in those hoods is a guarantee to re-offend. Y’all should see the new high school and jr high school that was built in Dallas for the ghetto in the Park Ln, Greenville Ave, Fair Oaks area. The HS looks like a Super Max. I guess were just preparing to send these kids into Texas’ Industrial Prison Complex. The Jr High looks like a State School so I suppose that’s to help kids prepare to be fresh meat for tyc’s Chester’s.
Whatever happened to that kid tyc booted out on a mental discharge who was accused in the stabbing death of the Tyler Special Ed teacher? Wasn’t he a 2 timer in tyc but had priors from New Orleans before coming to Texas as a Katrina Evacuee? I remember reading that one of the eye witness in the stabbing death of that Tyler teacher said the kid yelled out a racial epitaph as he plunged a knife into the Teachers heart. Never heard anything more about if the kid was going to get charged with a hate crime or not. Seems like it all got swept under the rug. He certainly has a great defense to get off with some easy time, if tyc says he is to messed up to treat.
Sheldon
Nobody gets charged with a hate crime for stabbing or assaulting a white man. We all pretend we don't see the racial motivation.
So is the suggestion being made that the TYC parole program is insufficient and that Anderson High is qualified to 'tailor programs' for this parolee?
TYC is following the law as currently written and interpreted. AISD is asking for the law to be interpreted the way they want it to be. I don't understand why AISD needs to know what weapon and at what location an armed robbery occured (for example). If you know the student is a parolee for armed robbery, plan accordingly.
I don’t think that its being suggested tyc parole program is inefficient Binky. However there is plenty of historical data that tyc as a whole is inefficient, including its parole system. I’m sure tyc is doing at the very least, what its told, as tyc interprets the law/policy. Its not just being suggested that Anderson High is qualified or even more qualified to tailor programs for “this parolee”. It should be a given that Anderson High is way more qualified to tailor programs for “this student”.
I suggested based on a look at Anderson High’s web site that this school is most likely not accustomed to having students transferred in from our state’s 120 yo agency of child abuse and public fund mismanagement. Its simply stating a truism that it should be a no brainer that Anderson High could tailor a program for this student that would far outweigh anything the tyc chester/protector crew could dream of let alone implement. At Anderson High I bet the student will be encouraged to live up to his potential. The student won’t have to fear some team playa brow beating him into the late hours of the evening and then forcing the student to “get off” on the team playa. The student will have wonderful consolers as opposed to shit bag tyc case workers who are more interested in protecting the team playa than helping a child succeed. And even more than tyc could ever hope to have, Anderson High has real TEACHERS, who teach, instead of cry about how stupid the corrections people are. Crying about something like the stupidity of corrections people is like crying the sun comes up in the east. You can’t fix that, that’s why chimpanzees don’t fly commercial airlines.
I mean come on Binky to suggest that tyc can do anything other than molest children in their care, mismanage time and resources and cover up, is just plain foolishness. You must not be from around here or even worst employed by our states agency for molesting state property. What with the Boy Scouts and the Church cracking down on pedophiles tyc is the safest place for pedophiles these days. Complete with a steady supply of fresh meat courtesy of the war on drugs.
Sheldon
Wow, Sheldon.
That was the most incensed comment that I think I've ever provoked.
In a nutshell, what I was trying to express is..What kind of path are we going down when a public school district is becoming responsible for a parolee's rehabilitation (part of the criminal justice system)as opposed to being an educational institution?
I still don't see what the details of a parolee's crimes has to do with tailoring an educational program, and the chimpanzee/airline pilot reference was lost on me.
I'm sorry if you have been 'touched' in some way by TYC, but pushing those responsibilities onto a school is not the answer, fixing the problem is.
“That was the most incensed comment that I think I've ever provoked.”
Thank You I was able to barf that out without trying. Who says engineers can only write tech books.
“In a nutshell, what I was trying to express is..What kind of path are we going down when a public school district is becoming responsible for a parolee's rehabilitation (part of the criminal justice system)as opposed to being an educational institution?”
It takes everyone to help these kids. The school is a big part of it. To the school the kid is a student with potential. He may be a parolee but that’s just a short time. In the right environment he can excel. We have county in North Texas that would rather send a kid out of state than to tyc, because the kid will get help and its cheaper. Collin county uses a holistic approach to kids because it’s been proven effective. This is one court case tyc does not need to spend a bunch of tax payer money to cover up tyc’s ignorance with its professionalism.
“…and the chimpanzee/airline pilot reference was lost on me.”
A chimpanzee can be trained to fly a rocket. NASA did this during the early days of its Apollo program. However it should be a no brainer that in spite of the chimps trainability in rocket flight its unwise for the chimp to fly a commercial airliner. Similar, a tyc Chester or their protector can be promoted up the ranks to cover for their innate pedophilia but to expect tyc to help a child become a civilized member of society is just plan foolishness.
“I'm sorry if you have been 'touched' in some way by TYC, …”
I’m afraid I am an alumni during the physical abuse years. I’m glad I wasn’t part of today’s tyc pedophile years. Missed that whole government sanctioned tyc staff turnover resulting in a much more sexual deviant culture. According to the historical data tyc was so much better back then.
”but pushing those responsibilities onto a school is not the answer, fixing the problem is.”
Again it takes the whole community. This sentence shows a silo mentality. Again a chimp in a rocket is ok, but no flying a commercial airlines. The tyc needs to leave helping troubled teen business to professionals and turn the warehousing of really messed up teens over to tdc.
Sheldon tyc#47333 II c/s
mvssb,gssb,Ftyc
“That was the most incensed comment that I think I've ever provoked.”
Thank You I was able to barf that out without trying. Who says engineers can only write tech books.
“In a nutshell, what I was trying to express is..What kind of path are we going down when a public school district is becoming responsible for a parolee's rehabilitation (part of the criminal justice system)as opposed to being an educational institution?”
It takes everyone to help these kids. The school is a big part of it. To the school the kid is a student with potential. He may be a parolee but that’s just a short time. In the right environment he can excel. We have county in North Texas that would rather send a kid out of state than to tyc, because the kid will get help and its cheaper. Collin county uses a holistic approach to kids because it’s been proven effective. This is one court case tyc does not need to spend a bunch of tax payer money to cover up tyc’s ignorance with its professionalism.
“…and the chimpanzee/airline pilot reference was lost on me.”
A chimpanzee can be trained to fly a rocket. NASA did this during the early days of its Apollo program. However it should be a no brainer that in spite of the chimps trainability in rocket flight its unwise for the chimp to fly a commercial airliner. Similar, a tyc Chester or their protector can be promoted up the ranks to cover for their innate pedophilia but to expect tyc to help a child become a civilized member of society is just plan foolishness.
“I'm sorry if you have been 'touched' in some way by TYC, …”
I’m afraid I am an alumni during the physical abuse years. I’m glad I wasn’t part of today’s tyc pedophile years. Missed that whole government sanctioned tyc staff turnover resulting in a much more sexual deviant culture. According to the historical data tyc was so much better back then.
”but pushing those responsibilities onto a school is not the answer, fixing the problem is.”
Again it takes the whole community. This sentence shows a silo mentality. Again a chimp in a rocket is ok, but no flying a commercial airlines. The tyc needs to leave helping troubled teen business to professionals and turn the warehousing of really messed up teens over to tdc.
Sheldon tyc#47333 II c/s
mvssb,gssb,Ftyc
"It take the whole community"? Must be Hillary trying to sale her book, "It Takes a Village"!!
It takes de-criminalization of low level drugs, parents being responsible for their children, less government intrusion, real penalties for repeat offenders or chronic youth.
Oh Lord Sheldon.... More insults/no answers.
It is sad what happened to you in TYC Sheldon, eventually though you will need to let go and move forward.
Post a Comment