You Are Not Alone Diane Tran

State Not Doing Its Job

You all have heard of Diane Tran - jailed for missing school because she was trying to help support her family. I know there are other cases just like this and worse in the state of Texas - my grandson is one of them.  He suffers from asthma, allergies and a stomach condition.  He is a band student, baseball player and an all around good kid - NEVER in trouble at school.  He is not an honor student, but is still above average in his grades.  This is the story of a child with documented illness and injuries, whose normal school day starts at 7:25 a.m. and usually ends after 5:00 p.m. - band early and baseball late.   This semester alone he has accrued between $5,000 and $10,000 in emergency room treatment alone - not to mention many clinic bills.  His medical problems and medicines cause him to have chronic weakness and fatigue.  When this hits him, he spends 10-12 hours sleeping it off.  He is not running around skipping school.  He likes and enjoys school even with the unnecessary  trouble they have put him through.

In March, he was summoned before a Justice of the Peace to explain his actions.  I went with him to help with the explanation.  At his hearing was the JP, his Assistant Principal and the school district investigator. The Assistant Principal read his grades and that he was not a discipline problem and the investigator read how many days he had missed.  The JP asked him why he had missed and he told her he was sick.  I asked to further explain about his missing days.  The JP told me to shut up - she wasn't going to hear it.  I figured we had better just make the best of what was going on - I didn't want to be held in contempt.  The JP found him guilty and issued a court order demanding that he was to have no more unexcused absences. According to Texas state law, you can get a letter from his doctor explaining his continuing condition and medicines he is taking.  I did this on April 3rd.  This was ignored by the investigator and on May 30th, he was again summoned before the JP for contempt.  

This started a much more heated debate.  Once again, the Assistant Principal read his grades and stated he had no disciplinary actions. The investigator read the number of missed days he had.  The JP asked him why and he said he was sick.  I asked to speak and was allowed to read item one of 7 that I had. I said, "This is simple, it is the case of a child with documented illness and injuries".  Once again, I was told to shut-up.  The investigator started explaining about unexcused absences and I asked if she had seen his doctor's letter.  She said she hadn't and I told her it was turned in on April 4th.  She started telling me that a generic letter wouldn't cover his absences.  I told her it wasn't a generic letter - it was specific to my grandson. All this time the JP was shouting at the top of her voice for me to shut-up.  Needless to say the JP found him guilty of contempt and fined him $500 and $100 for court costs.  This is about justice. There is absolutely no judicial procedure in this court and no sympathy for the children they say they are trying to help.  This must be corrected or justice will never be served.  I can't fight this injustice alone - any suggestions will be appreciated.  Please Sign My Petition to the Amarillo Independent School District:
http://www.change.org/petitions/administrator-palo-duro-cluster-stop-persecuting-my-grandson