Parents across the country are living in fear of being reported to social service agencies for neglect if they don’t comply with school regulations.
In the latest case, Union County Schools in Blairsville, Georgia, sent a letter notifying families that they will be reported to the government if students rack up charges for failing to bring lunch money to school.
A concerned parent flagged the letter, which lays out a concerningly low threshold for reporting families for government intervention.
“Students who are unable to pay for their lunch at the time of meal service will be allowed to charge a meal,” the letter from the school system’s nutrition department says. “After the student has incurred charges of $20, the student will receive an alternative lunch.
“Principals will be notified regarding student account balances each month.
“If the student’s charges become excessive, at the discretion of the school principal and social worker, the Union County Division of Family and Child Services may be contacted in relation to potential student neglect.”
David Murphy, assistant superintendent of Union County Schools, said in an email to The Epoch Times: “The School Nutrition Services and Meal Charge Guidelines are being misinterpreted and have never been intended to leverage the Division of Family and Child Services for lunch payments.
“The guidelines in question state the following: ‘If the student’s charges become excessive, at the discretion of the school principal and social worker, the Union County Division of Family and Child Services may be contacted in relation to potential neglect.’ Please note the word ‘may’ in the quoted sentence. This in no way implies that students owing lunch money are reported for neglect, and to my knowledge, no one has ever been reported for this cause alone.
“Georgia law identifies school employees as mandated reporters of student abuse and/or neglect. Thus, any school employee believing a student’s well-being is in jeopardy must report the situation to the Division of Family and Child Services. These guidelines also state, as identified in the same sentence quoted above, that both the school principal and social worker must determine that the excessive debt is the cause of neglect. Therefore, two caring adults must both come to the same conclusion in this case.
“We care deeply for our students and their well-being, and for this we make no apologies!”
Parental rights advocate Seraphim Schwab sees the letter differently. He told The Epoch Times that he spoke to other employees of the school system and is concerned with their lack of knowledge about the tactic.
“The letter is clearly a strong-arm tactic to get parents to pay them the balance that they are owed. Maybe the students are being bullied and getting their lunch money stolen. To trigger an anonymous report and prompt law enforcement to come to their house is very concerning and needs to stop,” Schwab said.
Union County Schools Superintendent John Hill didn’t immediately return a request for comment from The Epoch Times. The Union County Division of Children and Family Services in Blairsville, Georgia, also didn’t immediately return a request for comment.
Parents nationwide are expressing concern about schools reporting their children to government protective agencies.
“On June 13, 2019, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo signed legislation removing non-medical exemptions from school vaccination requirements for children. This means that as of June 13, there is no longer a religious exemption to the requirement that children be vaccinated against measles and other diseases,” the letter stated.
“In the event that you do not follow this mandate, we will be reaching out to Child Protective Services (CPS) to alert them of your non-compliance,” the letter stated.
A national parent movement is forming to fight back against perceived injustices in the child protective services system.
“During my training, my observations, and in my work experiences, I learned that the DCFS does not have a mechanism for backing down and, has a tendency, even if the parent is innocent, to make them appear guilty in some way, and that includes perjuring testimony, falsifying reports, and fabricating evidence to justify taking children,” Murphy said in the affidavit submitted by Dr. Spell’s attorney.