This High School Fines Students Who Show Up Late, and Some Parents Are Ticked
A Utah high school is actually fining students money for showing up late to class. The fines are part of a new anti-tardiness policy rolled out last week, which administrators think is going to be a big success. Some parents, however, are not at all happy.
According to AOL News, the Stansbury High School in Stansbury, Utah, is fining kids who aren’t in class by the time the bell rings. Administrators are specifically targeting the times between classes, not drop-off time. They say that mid-day lateness is something that’s under kids’ control. It’s up to the kids to make a “personal choice” about whether to hurry to get to class or dawdle in the hallways.
The school fines start with a warning
The fines get higher the more tardinesses a person accumulates. The first lateness gets a warning. The second lateness gets a $3 fine. Once a kid hits three latenesses, the fine jumps to $5.
Fines can only be levied by administrators, not teachers. The plan launched last week on Tuesday, and administrators say nobody is late anymore. They’ve so far issued one warning, and no fines. It seems like once the kids saw the school was really going to fine them, they started walking a little faster between classes.
”What we’re really trying to target is those periods between classes where really it’s a choice,” assistant principal Cody Reutzel said to AOL News. “It’s a personal decision of whether you’re going to walk from class A to class B and be on time.”
The anti-tardiness program is still very new, but administrators say it’s going great so far. The school used to have a problem with lateness, and now the halls are totally empty during class periods.
Some parents aren’t pleased
Parents aren’t necessarily happy, though. One mother told AOL News that she liked the idea of personal responsibility, but she thinks parents should have been consulted.
Another mother is actually pissed. She told AOL News that she thinks it’s a money grab from the greedy school district.
”I think the school board implemented this as part of a way to generate income, make a money grab out of the thing,” said Stansbury mom Beth Dennison.
According to the school, any fines collected will be kept for student incentives. Any kids who can’t or don’t want to pay the fines can opt instead to take detention during lunch. It’s also possible to buy off a fine by not being tardy for a few weeks after the offending lateness.
What do you think of fining kids for being late? Let us know in the comments.
Also read:
- A Teenager Dressed His Little Brother Like Pennywise the Clown, and the Pictures Are Creepy AF
- Mom Hero Reminds Us That We Don’t Have to Entertain Our Kids 24/7
- This Woman’s Gender Reveal Party for Her Rescued Chicken Is the Best
(Image: iStockPhoto / ismagilov)
