Tanya McDowell, Homeless Woman, Arrested For Sending Son To School Using Babysitter's Address

A homeless mother has been arrested for sending her child to a public school in an area where they didn't live.

Tanya McDowell is being charged with first-degree larceny for stealing $15,686 in education funds from the Norwalk, Conn. school district, the Stamford Advocate reports.

McDowell and her 6-year-old son don't have a permanent address, but split their time between a homeless shelter and a friend's apartment in Bridgeport. McDowell, however, used her son's babysitter's address to falsely register him for a Norwalk elementary school.

McDowell's arrest is a startlingly severe punishment for her crime. Most families caught sending children to schools in areas where they don't live are allowed to pull the students from the school without consequence.

The babysitter, Ana Rebecca Marques, is also being punished. She has been evicted from public housing for her role in helping McDowell get her son into the school.

The case is likely being used as an example to deter others from committing the same crime.

According to the Stamford Advocate, Mayor Richard Moccia said of the case,

"This now sends a message to other parents that may have been living in other towns and registering their kids with phony addresses."

Earlier this year, Ohio mother Kelley Williams-Bolar faced similar charges and was convicted of a felony for falsifying records to send her children to a better school.

The two cases highlight the rising trend of school officials trying to weed out students who don't live in their districts.

According to the Associated Press:

Education officials say cases tend to surface more when budgets are tight and in areas where there are significant disparities between districts such as in academic success or local income level -- particularly in wealthier districts near urban areas. That often means the districts in question also have racial disparities.

The discussion of Williams-Bolar's case has prompted a fierce debate over educational equity and school choice.

Comments

[aMoodyPoster]

04:38 PM on 04/28/2011

Why...isn't McKinney Vento applied here??.... This article makes me sick.

[am10]

10:41 AM on 04/29/2011

Because her homelessness had nothing to do with it. Had she said she was homeless, he would have stayed in Norwalk. But she lied about her address, the babysitter's landlord found out about it and reported it.

[JeffPoster]

08:55 PM on 04/27/2011

One added thought. I do think the $15K+ fine is excessive. Why not find the woman work in the school system and whatever salary she would have gotten can be used to barter for the child's education?

[am10]

10:40 AM on 04/29/2011

You want a drug dealer working in a school?

[JeffPoster]

08:53 PM on 04/27/2011

I used to be a registrar in an "alternative school"(at one time, they were called "reform schools"). Parents whose children were assigned to my school had only one other alternative...being expelled from regular school. Some parents tried to cover up their children's past by moving--or claiming they moved--to another county and get the youngsters into a regular school there. It didn't work most of the time. Alert registrars would recognize the name of my school and call to make sure. The students were caught, and sent to be considered for "at-risk" schools in the other counties. I wouldn't feel so bad about all this if the lady had found a friend in the other community and crashed at her/his house. It all boils down to where you pay taxes, even state sales taxes, which are often devoted to education. Many TV commentators, however, have an added bone to pick, alleging that public schools are filled with incompetent teachers, some of them who belong to professional organizations/unions which protect them under due process. I restent the implication these people are universally incompetent. It's the same kind of conservative reasoning that was used to criticize Pres. Obama for being a Muslim(not true), wasn't born in Hawaii(again, not true), or the claim that all Muslims are terrorists(also, not true).

[TrueChristiansForAmerica]

10:54 AM on 04/27/2011

this is an outrage check out my blog on this very subject... http://truechristiansforamerica.blogspot.com/2011/04/democracy-dies-as-we-people-watch.html

[CubbieMike]

07:20 AM on 04/27/2011

I'm confused what address could (should she have) used? Does she not have the right to send her child to school because she doesn't pay taxes?

[KrmcRestitution]

01:11 AM on 04/27/2011

Please don't forget about the plight of Ana Marquez, who was made homeless herself when the City of Norwalk evicted her in the dead of winter for helping Tonya. Ana has just received a Karmic Restitution Award from http://karmicrestitution.com/ - we would like to provide her as much support as possible.

[am10]

10:42 AM on 04/29/2011

If you live in public housing, you still have to follow the rules. She didn't.

[Koeiseun]

08:00 PM on 04/26/2011

Lock her up!

[johnqpublik]

02:27 PM on 04/25/2011

How do they decide what school district a homeless child would be considered part of?

By their last known residence?

[Quanishia Mosley]

10:49 PM on 04/26/2011

This is a petition for Ms. McDowell, Please sign and share the link! This is absurd!

http://www.change.org/petitions/is-providing-your-child-with-a-decent-education-a-crime-tell-connecticut-it-isnt

[see-ellen2001]

11:50 PM on 04/24/2011

Gee, homeless mother risks criminal record to provide better opportunity for her child. Wow, what a b**ch! We better weed her kind out of education.

[Kimiko Austin-Rijs]

05:07 PM on 04/24/2011

I am ashamed to call myself American when I read stories like this. It is like they don't believe that poor people warrent a decent life.

[am10]

10:45 AM on 04/29/2011

Oh stop it. Making martyr out of this drug dealer isn't the right way to go. It is a shame they arrested her and gave her the spotlight, though.

[Kimiko Austin-Rijs]

12:11 PM on 04/29/2011

This is not about the alegations of her dealing drugs. This is about her sending her son to school, which should not be a crime. Chances are she will catch a break because of all of the hate that is being directed towards her. You won't like that at all being that people like you THRIVE on the suffering of others.

[KJLSanDiego]

03:36 PM on 04/24/2011

It is so sad for these kids!
While the schools need money from property taxes to run, these kids being punished for their parents SES sucks!
Also, these days there are a lot of parents who haven't been able to find work in the struggling economy, and it's not their fault that there is such limited opportunity!

[bmc0718]

01:27 PM on 04/24/2011

This is the reality for the poor and disenfranchised in this 'great' country of ours. The powers that be (or better said - people with money) want everyone to stay put in their current social construct, and if you try to break your way out (particularly if you're poor) then they will do whatever is within their power to not only put you back in your place, but ensure that you are broken and will never, ever, try to better your situation again.

[Frank Lee Mydear]

06:44 AM on 04/24/2011

So can I sue the Broward County Florida school system for making me spend $50,000 because they wanted my kid to repeat the thrird grade a third time, not because he was a bad student day to day, or that he didn't pass the SAT, but because he didn't pass Jeb Bush's cohort's FCAT test even after being assured our child would repeat any grade more than once. Now that he's in high school and we're near bankruptcy, his school closed because the parents weren't paying and is being taken over by the public system. Now where the passing the FCAT will prevent you from graduating, we can't afford to take him elsewhere. (He is still passing SAT's and day to day is not always great, but still legitimate passing).

[innerpuppie]

10:02 PM on 04/23/2011

And, Lindsay Lohan is out on bail and given her 8th or 9th chance? There is something SO WRONG with our justice system - or - is it a 'justice' system?

[82ndBaggy]

12:46 PM on 04/25/2011

We have a legal system, but not necessarily a justice system.

[Jen880]

12:28 PM on 04/23/2011

I totally agree that Education is the springboard to liberty and personal/national wealth. If education was free and equal to all citizen this problem would go away! Without elevating and educating all our citizens, we as a nation will all be affected by stupidity, poverty and desperation by its own people. Once the “have-nots” no longer have anything to lose… the “haves” will have everything to lose… history has shown this happens every time