New law holds parents accountable for student absence, tardiness

Among all the new laws going into effect (remember to buckle up in the back seat!), one takes a step toward making parents more accountable for their children's truancy and tardiness.

As WAFB-TV's Caroline Moses reports here, the parents of children who are habitually late or absent can be fined and even jailed.

Teachers know that parental involvement is a crucial for student success. One of their biggest complaints concerns parents who don't show up for parent-teacher conferences, don't ensure that children complete homework assignments, and don't seem to even care if their children are at school when they are supposed to be.

This new law is part of a movement toward a bolder, broader approach to public education that tries to draw entire communities into school improvement, rather than simply blaming teachers for what is a much larger social problem.