State v. Celia R. (In re Interest of Carlos G.)
| Decision Date | 24 March 2020 |
| Docket Number | No. A-19-804.,A-19-804. |
| Parties | IN RE INTEREST OF CARLOS G., A CHILD UNDER 18 YEARS OF AGE. STATE OF NEBRASKA, APPELLEE, v. CELIA R., APPELLANT. |
| Court | Nebraska Court of Appeals |
(Memorandum Web Opinion)
Appeal from the County Court for Hall County: ALFRED E. COREY III, Judge. Affirmed.
Grady C. Erickson, of Mayer, Burns & Koenig, for appellant.
Katherine J. Doering and Garrett L. Schroeder, Deputy Hall County Attorney, for appellee.
Celia R., mother of minor child Carlos G., appeals from the decision of the Hall County Court, sitting in its capacity as a juvenile court, adjudicating Carlos as a child within the meaning of Neb. Rev. Stat. § 43-247(3)(a) (Reissue 2016), after finding Celia neglected Carlos' education and that Carlos lacked proper parental care due to the faults and habits of Celia. For the reasons set forth herein, we affirm.
In April 2019, the State filed a petition alleging Carlos was a minor child within the meaning of § 43-247(3)(a) because Carlos lacked proper parental care by reason of the fault or habits of Celia and because Celia neglected or refused to provide proper or necessary subsistence, education, or other care necessary for Carlos' health, morals, or well-being. Both counts related to issues regarding Carlos' truancy and absenteeism. More specifically, the State alleged Carlos was failing four classes and had a "D" in a fifth class, had extended absences from school over a protracted period of time, and that Celia failed or refused to engage with Walnut Middle School to address those issues.
On July 2019, an adjudication hearing was held. Testimony was elicited from Julie Schlachter, a school social worker employed at Walnut Middle School; Julie Bruning, an educational and behavior consultant at Walnut Middle School; and Selena Wardyn, vice principal at Walnut Middle School.
Schlachter, who had been employed at Walnut Middle School for the past 13 years, explained that part of her job as a school social worker is to work with students who have excessive school absences. Schlachter testified that when a student misses 10 percent or more of school, she meets with the student's parents and the student to learn why the student is missing school and how she can assist them to correct the problem. Sometimes an intervention is staged and the attendance problem resolves itself; otherwise, Schlachter meets with the parents and student to create an attendance plan which Schlachter then monitors. If the attendance plan fails to cure the problem, then an attendance hearing is held, which the parents and student can voluntarily attend. The attendance hearing process begins with sending letters to the parents, and if the letters fail to achieve the desired result, the next step involves contacting the student. The process allows Schlachter to work with the parents to decide how to address the problem of excessive absences.
Specific to this case, Schlachter testified that she worked with Carlos and his probation officer because Carlos was on probation for truancy from August to December 31, 2018. From August to December, Carlos missed 6 days of school. Because of Carlos' attendance issues, Schlachter set expectations for Carlos requiring him to obtain a doctor's note excusing him from school or requiring Carlos to check with the school nurse who would recommend Carlos either stay at school or leave to go home.
Schlachter noted she views these reports as a tool that assists her work with students. Celia's counsel again objected to the court receiving pages four and five of exhibit 4 based on lack of foundation and hearsay. The court received exhibit 4 in its entirety over the objections.
When asked about Carlos' total school absences for the 2018 to 2019 school year, Schlachter testified that by April 1, 2019, Carlos was absent 20 days with 5 of those days being unexcused absences. Schlachter explained she became concerned with Carlos' absences in the second semester because he had a number of absences after he completed probation.
Schlachter testified the school complied with Neb. Rev. Stat. § 79-209 (Reissue 2014) in that it documented verbal and written communications to Celia concerning Carlos' attendance, as well as documenting a September 6, 2018, meeting with Celia and Carlos and a social worker. The notes established that Celia failed to attend the fall and winter parent-teacher conferences, canceled a February 2019 meeting with school officials, did not answer phone calls, and was not responsive to offers of assistance from the school. Walnut Middle School attempted to implement a "Response to Intervention" (RTI) plan on March 7 to identify any barriers to Carlos' success and to create a plan to address those barriers.
Schlachter explained that she reached out to Celia three times during Carlos' seventh grade year and that the assistant principal and two of Carlos' teachers also tried contacting Celia all to no avail. One of the notes Schlachter wrote stated:
In kindergarten Carlos missed 20 days of school, first grade he missed 20, second grade he missed 12, third grade he missed 23, fourth grade he missed 23, fifth grade he missed 20, sixth grade he missed 37. At the time of this, Carlos was on probation for truancy, and in seventh grade he's missed 20 days of school so far.
Schlachter explained Carlos' school absences concerned her because, throughout his school career, he had missed 175 academic days, which is the equivalent to one academic school year. Schlachter also testified that Carlos' grades have declined during his sixth grade and seventh grade years. When asked whether the amount of absences accumulated during his seventh grade year was in Carlos' best interests, Schlachter responded that it was not in his best interests because "missing out on a lot of academics" will make it more difficult for him to move forward as academics "builds" on each other. Schlachter testified that at the time of referral, Carlos had one "D" and four "F"s. Despite his grades, Schlachter acknowledged Carlos was socially promoted, meaning Walnut Middle School does not hold students back from the eighth grade due to their grades.
Bruning, who has been employed at Walnut Middle School for the past 6 years, explained that her job as an educational and behavior consultant involves engaging with students who have learning or behavioral challenges and coordinating special educational services for them. Bruning testified that students who have "missed too much school" are not given a formal evaluation to assess whether they have a learning disability because it is difficult to make that determination if there has been a lack of opportunity to learn. Bruning uses Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) testing as a tool to monitor student progress over a period of time. Carlos' MAP scores showed that during the seventh grade year, his scores dipped and that Carlos eventually ended the year scoring only one point higher than his MAP score at the beginning of the year. Overall, Bruningtestified Carlos' MAP scores have been historically low compared to his peers, and that while his MAP testing shows he has made some improvement, he is below average. Bruning explained that sometimes Carlos tests near average in his MAP scores and sometimes he tests below average. Bruning indicated this pattern suggests Carlos does not have a learning disability. Bruning testified that at one point, school officials initiated an RTI plan regarding Carlos. Bruning testified Celia did not participate in the RTI plan and that due to the high number of Carlos' absences, school officials were prevented from completing the RTI plan. Bruning explained that school officials encouraged Carlos to enroll in intervention classes for specific courses but were met with resistance from Celia. Specifically, Celia requested permission for Carlos to continue with orchestra which was allowed on the condition that Carlos would attend math intervention after school.
Wardyn, vice principal at Walnut Middle School, explained that based on her experience, lack of attendance affects students in several areas, including academic achievement. Wardyn expounded that every student, regardless of innate ability, will be negatively impacted by lack of school attendance. Wardyn testified that school absences, whether excused or unexcused, affect the teacher-student dynamic explaining, ...
To continue reading
Request your trial