Is This the America You Want to Live In

[Scarpia]

A homeless woman is facing a 20 year prison sentence because she tried to register her five year old son in a Norwalk school district where she did not have a valid mailing address. 

http://news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_thelookout/20110422/us_yblog_thelookout/homeless-woman-prosecuted-for-enrolling-son-in-conn-school


Homeless woman prosecuted for enrolling son in Conn. school
By Liz Goodwin

Connecticut authorities have filed theft charges against Tanya McDowell, a homeless woman, alleging that she used a false address to enroll her son in a higher-income school district, The Stamford Advocate reports. If she's convicted, McDowell may end up in jail for as many as 20 years and pay a $15,000 fine for the crime.

McDowell is a homeless single mother from Bridgeport who used to work in food services, is now at the center of one of the very few false address cases in the Norwalk, CT, school district that is being handled in criminal court--rather than between the parent and school. Authorities are accusing McDowell of enrolling her 5-year-old son in nearby Norwalk schools by using the address of a friend. (Her friend has also been evicted from public housing for letting McDowell use her address.)
McDowell says she stayed in a Norwalk homeless shelter sometimes--but she didn't register there, which would have made her son eligible to attend the school.

"I had no idea whatsoever that if you enroll your child in another school district, it becomes a crime," the 33-year-old told the paper.

An education advocacy group, Connecticut Parents Union, is holding a fundraiser to help McDowell pay the possible fine.

The case is attracting some national attention in the education world, as it's similar to the headline-making story of Ohio mom Kelley Williams-Bolar, who spent days in jail after using her father's address to send her kids to a better-performing school. Her story ignited a debate about inequalities in the public school system.

"One woman has been evicted, another could go to jail and all because a little boy went to school in a district where he sometimes lives," education writer Joanne Jacobs said of the case. The blog DropOut Nation notes that the Norwalk schools are better than those in Bridgeport, where McDowell's last address was; the case thereby raises larger questions about why poorer families often must send their kids to poorly performing schools, in part because local tax revenues make up so much of school funding.

In Williams-Bolar's case, private investigators hired by Copley-Fairlawn schools in Ohio found her out and turned her over to the courts. In McDowell's case, the false address was uncovered by a public housing attorney dealing with the friend who let her use the address.

"I am surprised that this is the case [Norwalk officials] chose to make an example of," Norwalk attorney Michael Corsello told the Stamford-Advocate.

[Philoctetes]

Just seeing the outlook of the case; I'm wagering that Tanya is an African American, and am not at all shocked by it.

[Coopmv]

Just seeing the outlook of the case; I'm wagering that Tanya is an African American, and am not at all shocked by it.

But CT is a solid blue state ...

[Philoctetes]

But CT is a solid blue state ...

And this means what?

[Todd]

There are scads of stupid and/or horrible laws at the local, state, and federal level, and sometimes it takes foolish prosecution of individuals under said laws to get the laws changed.  Perhaps this one will be enforced with no change to the law, but then again perhaps not.  This type of publicity probably does not and will not sit well with local and state leaders, forcing a possible reconsideration of the current case and law. 

I find the law both silly and damaging, based on information presented, but I must assume that it passed democratically, either by a vote of the people or their elected representatives, so the people of Connecticut got what they voted for.  That happens sometimes.

Of course, this is a minor issue at best and really doesn't indicate much about the state of America or American politics.

[Scarpia]

There are scads of stupid and/or horrible laws at the local, state, and federal level, and sometimes it takes foolish prosecution of individuals under said laws to get the laws changed.  Perhaps this one will be enforced with no change to the law, but then again perhaps not.  This type of publicity probably does not and will not sit well with local and state leaders, forcing a possible reconsideration of the current case and law. 

I find the law both silly and damaging, based on information presented, but I must assume that it passed democratically, either by a vote of the people or their elected representatives, so the people of Connecticut got what they voted for.  That happens sometimes.

Of course, this is a minor issue at best and really doesn't indicate much about the state of America or American politics.

I would agree with you, except that the story says that the woman is being  prosecuted for "theft," and obviously at a felony level, judging by the 20 year prison term which she is at risk of.  Presumably this is based on the value of the services "stolen."  The laws would be at fault if there was really a 20 year penalty for filing false papers to the school board.   As it is, it strikes me as a case of 'vigilante" prosecution.   I assume the most common remedy for this sort of thing is to simply send the kid home.

In any case, I find the case disturbing for a number of reasons.  I think it is a terrible idea for schools to be funded locally, so that wealthy districts have great schools and poor districts have terrible schools.  It has nothing to do with fairness, I don't think our country can continue to prosper when the students who most desperately need access to a good education are least likely to have access to it.  I also find it disturbing that prosecutors apparently have the discretion to apply laws with such malice. 

[Josquin des Prez]

I'm wagering that Tanya is an African American.

True. Either wise we would have never heard of this story. Well, perhaps the "single mother" angle might have been enough to garner some interest from the media.

[Coopmv]

And this means what?

What has happened to this woman should not have happened at all based on the traditional values of the Democratic Party.

[Philoctetes]

True. Either wise we would have never heard of this story. Well, perhaps the "single mother" angle might have been enough to garner some interest from the media.

I don't think the single mother aspect would have been compelling enough to propel it forward. Although, I do think disproportionate approach of the state is really the news maker.

What has happened to this woman should not have happened at all based on the traditional values of the Democratic Party.

Really? How far are we going back with this tradition?

[Gurn Blanston]

What has happened to this woman should not have happened at all based on the traditional values of the Democratic Party.

There is no indication from the story that this is a new law. It may have been in effect for a century, back when them ole Republican meanies were in power.   



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[DavidW]

The officials of Norwalk must have been born stupid.  Did not one of them think "hey if we try to prosecute this icon of the American dream, we might get bad publicity"?  I'm sure this kind of crime goes on more often than not, and we don't hear about it because the school simply quietly transfers them to another school.

[Todd]

...judging by the 20 year prison term which she is at risk of.

There's no chance that she'll get twenty years.  People want to get reelected, and even the most ambitious prosecutors out there 1.) usually want to move up the ladder, and 2.) have to answer to publicity sensitive bosses.  This is an embarrassment for Norwalk and damage control will be part of the approach now.

[Philoctetes]

There's no chance that she'll get twenty years.

Firing squad.

[Daverz]

The country does seem to be getting meaner, in all senses of the word: cruel, small-minded, and self-centered.

[Scarpia]

There's no chance that she'll get twenty years.  People want to get reelected, and even the most ambitious prosecutors out there 1.) usually want to move up the ladder, and 2.) have to answer to publicity sensitive bosses.  This is an embarrassment for Norwalk and damage control will be part of the approach now.

...unless the prosecutor is pandering to his or her mean/spirited constituency that doesn't want "bums" benefiting from their tax dollars, and is doing to get reelected.

[Todd]

...unless the prosecutor is pandering to his or her mean/spirited constituency that doesn't want "bums" benefiting from their tax dollars, and is doing to get reelected.

Nope, she ain't going to get twenty years, and throwing the book at her won't get anyone reelected.  Wouldn't work even in Texas. 

[eyeresist]

Another reason I'm glad I don't live in America. How can a country that is wonderful in many ways also be in other ways like a third world dictatorship?

[Daverz]

Here's another example of American assholery for ya:

http://michiganmessenger.com/48487/foster-children-would-be-allowed-to-get-clothing-only-from-second-hand-stores

Kicking the poor and vulnerable is a popular sport for some of our politicians.

[Coopmv]

I don't think the single mother aspect would have been compelling enough to propel it forward. Although, I do think disproportionate approach of the state is really the news maker.

Really? How far are we going back with this tradition?

50 years ...

[Philoctetes]

50 years ...

So you're picking a convenient and rather arbitrary timetable?