New Mexico State Rep. David Chavez Wants To Send Kids On Jail Field Trip

Most schools send students to a museum or the theater for a day away from the classroom. But one New Mexico state lawmaker is proposing a field trip to jail.

Rep. David Chavez introduced a bill Tuesday that would require public middle school students to visit jail and juvenile detention facilities, reports KOAT. Chavez believes the reality check would keep kids in school and out of trouble.

The bill would mandate that middle schools devise an alternative for students whose parents or guardians object. Parent Monique Jackson said she didn't like the idea.

"Who knows what's said to them when they go on these field trips?" Jackson asked.

Jackson's not the only one; the bill has been met with much opposition. It's lacking necessary traction to the point that Chavez himself says he doesn't think it will pass. But if it doesn't, he says he won't give up on finding truancy solutions -- the state is in desperate need of a truancy turnaround.

New Mexico has the second lowest graduation rate in the country, according to Education Week's 2010 report.

The state's past measures to curb class-cutting included a pilot program two years ago when Albuquerque Public Schools partnered with police to keep close tabs on students who skip, reports KOB. The district planned to expand the pilot, but then it was cut. Not to be deterred, APS started a new program last year working with churches and outside social workers to keep kids in school.

Other schools across the country also are taking extreme measures to prevent kids from skipping.

The San Bernardino City Unified School District is actually enforcing jail time as a state law to prevent kids from ditching. The difference is that they're sending parents.

The law, which took effect Jan. 1, states that parents or guardians of chronically truant students could spend a year in jail or be fined $2,000, reports the San Bernadino County Sun.

And last month, Lebanon School District in Pennsylvania was slapped with a lawsuit for penalizing parents and children 13 and older with a $300 fine per unexcused absence, according to the Associated Press.

Are jail field trips an approach you think could work? Weigh in below.

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What do you think of sending kids on a field trip to jail?

I wouldn't sign that permission slip!

That may be the solution to stop class-ditchers!

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Comments

[Rocxana]

12:24 PM on 02/28/2011

Decades of research indicate that Scared Straight programs such as the ones proposed in this bill are ineffective and potentially *harmful* to youth. As an educator, researcher, and concerned citizen, I highly recommend policymakers to review this research prior to making any decisions. http://ann.sagepub.com/content/589/1/41.abstract

[dbishop76]

07:04 PM on 02/19/2011

I suppose the thought never crossed their mind to take them to a frat party at a college? Best incentive to go to school and graduate that I can think of.

[Scar1]

04:07 PM on 02/19/2011

They took us and it was a wake up call just stepping in the door of the building.

[dadoorsron]

10:12 AM on 02/19/2011

The solution is very simple. Just don't worry about the kids. The parents failed them! The child will not change unless they want to now. So if they end up in jail that is the path that person took. It's not up to Governments or society to keep kids on track. It's their parents problem and if the parents cant manage their kids correctly then thats another great example of people having kids but many of them are not parents.

[dbishop76]

07:05 PM on 02/19/2011

"The solution is very simple. Just don't worry about the kids"

I would imagine that you will worry about them very much when it's your house they break into in five years...

[dadoorsron]

10:58 PM on 02/19/2011

Nope, Im not worried about that are you?

[1Woman4Obama]

02:02 PM on 02/18/2011

While I think this idea is just silly (and would never agree to my child going on this field trip), I spoke with a first grade teacher in one of the worst school districts in the LA area who said that she wished she could start talking to her students about prison. So many of their lives were effected by it (with relatives and neighbors in prison), that it seemed remiss to ignore it.

[Ink-]

12:11 PM on 02/18/2011

This is fairly ridiculous.
I've been to prison on a field trip, but that was in college, not middle school.
It won't be like "Beyond Scared Straight", the inmates won't tell kids to stay in school and respect their parents. Most likely they'll just get yelled at. In addition, being sent to prison surrounded by friends or peers greatly diminishes the impact of the environment in there. I highly doubt any one of them would take it seriously and will almost certainly regard it as a joke or a show.
I'm not saying I have a solution but this is not it.

[SangZe]

09:42 AM on 02/18/2011

Yeah, put them all in jail after seventh grade and not let them out until they know how to read and write.

[Ariel Bonzai]

02:25 AM on 02/18/2011

sadly, this is not motivated by concern for students. it is about funding.

[Sayra Pinto]

10:14 PM on 02/17/2011

Ridiculous

[ArdentV]

09:30 PM on 02/17/2011

I guess I am being a bit pollyannic. Whatever happened to the idea of "the joy of learning." Society attaches a price to everything and then wonders why some students just don't care. Is taking a literature course going to add 25¢ more per hour? Of course not but then, what about the beauty and becoming more comfortable with the language? Of course I like words and enjoy a good conversation that does not consist of slogans, cliches, and dismissive statements. What has this got to do with the issue of visiting a jail? I don't know but I would like to see some suggestions about how to get students (and their parents) to seek pleasure in just learning. Of course, there are those teachers who just go through the motions but that is another issue. Cheers everyone.

[SangZe]

09:48 AM on 02/18/2011

Good teachers are the ones who know how to convey the pleasures of learning to their students. That is obvious. It is also obvious that such teachers must constantly fight a culture which in government and in mass media openly scoffs at education and educators. In the United States, education is considered superfluous and irrelevant, and teachers are among the lowest paid professionals in the world. I have no solution. I found teaching in other lands a great pleasure because the attitude of the cultures was markedly different from my experiences in the U.S.

[dbishop76]

07:06 PM on 02/19/2011

I did not get a love of learning until I was 25 and in college. I was raised by a teacher and a professor....learning was all around me.

[Roy Robson]

09:28 PM on 02/17/2011

How about taking the parents with them.

[dadoorsron]

10:15 AM on 02/19/2011

Start throwing the mom and dad in jail when their kids ditch school. Maybe then they will become parents.

[dbishop76]

07:07 PM on 02/19/2011

Chances are that they will lose their job instead, making it even more difficult to parent.

[RickMoss]

09:14 PM on 02/17/2011

We can do better than this...

[mightygoodman]

06:57 PM on 02/17/2011

Fear working it's way into the school system ... perfect, let's start the conditioning early so our children always fear the government.

[iuriggs6]

05:16 PM on 02/19/2011

Fear the government? The kids might just be scared enough by being in a prison to make better choices. No paranoia from you at all.

[Super Sarcastic]

06:32 PM on 02/17/2011

One Enlightened Educator should be allowed to attend and explain to the students that this is what happens if you allow your skin turn to black or brown.

[Mark Santeramo]

06:29 PM on 02/17/2011

This is a great idea. Since most parents don't want to do their job these days, we might as well allow schools/the state to do it. Some problem kids just straight up need a wake up call and this could be it. As a teacher myself, I'd be all for it because I know firsthand what are the most serious issues that are plaguing America's students of today.