3 arrested in Merced County truancy sweep

School may be out for the summer but the District Attorney’s Office is continuing its program of arresting parents for whom warrants have been issued because their children were habitually absent from school during the school year.

District Attorney Larry Morse II on Thursday announced that investigators from the prosecutor’s office have arrested three more parents whose children were “chronically absent” during the school year.

Parents who were arrested during the latest sweep included: Shannon Muse, 37, Karina Valdez-Valenzuela, 38, and Rebecca Vallejo, 37, all Merced residents, according to the District Attorney’s Office.

“All had failed to appear in court on charges related to the truancy of their children,” Morse said in the statement.

Each parent was taken to Merced Superior Court where they appeared before Judge Mark V. Bacciarini and were given a later court date. If found guilty, each faces a fine of $2,500, a year in the county jail or probation, prosecutors said.

Morse said each school district maintains a School Attendance Review Board which reviews attendance of the students in their district.

“When a problem is noted, the parents are contacted and provided information and support to get the child back on a regular attendance schedule,” Morse said. “When the school has exhausted all of its efforts the SARB can ask the district attorney to intervene and prosecute the uncooperative parents under state laws that mandate school attendance.

“When parents fail to send their children to school they not only affect that child directly, but society in general. Reliable research shows that students who fail to graduate from high school are eight times more likely to be in jail or prison,” Morse said. “These studies also show that dropouts damage California’s economy. Dropouts earn less, pay fewer taxes, and are more likely to collect welfare and turn to crime.”

This story was originally published June 11, 2015 at 6:36 PM with the headline "3 arrested in Merced County truancy sweep."