Kid skips school, mom goes to jail

A British mother is spending eight weeks in the slammer for her son's truancy.

Published November 29, 2005 3:37PM (EST)

The Guardian reports that Christine Baker, 40, of Blakenhall, Wolverhampton, U.K., will spend eight weeks in the clink after pleading guilty for failing to ensure that her 13-year-old son attended school regularly. Apparently her son, who wasn't named, only made it to one-third of his classes last summer, and just a quarter of them during the preceding school year.

Baker was given a warning last year that she would face jail time if her son's attendance didn't improve. The charges were brought by the Wolverhampton City Council after Baker continued to give "a range of excuses" for her son's absences.

"Schools rely on the cooperation and support of families in order to be able to educate the city's young people," City Council member Christine Irving told the Guardian."The responsibility for ensuring that children attend school rests with their parents."

No word on who will take responsibility for Baker's son while she's in jail.


By Lori Leibovich

Lori Leibovich is a contributing editor at Salon and the former editor of the Life section.

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