Is it noble to fine students for misbehaving in schools? The Noble Street Charter School Network thinks so. The Chicago-area network has put pupils on notice. Act up and you’ll owe -- it's literally paying for bad behavior.
And it adds up: The costly demerits totaled $188,647 last year alone, according to the New York Times.
How can a school generate six-figures just from a child's misconduct? Infractions include chewing gum, inappropriate displays of affection, tardiness and unexcused absences, according to the student and parent handbook.
Four demerits equal a three-hour after-school detention plus a $5 fine. Children with a dozen or more detentions must take a behavior-improvement class. The cost? $140!
Since the 2008-2009 academic year, Noble Street Charter School Network amassed a total of $386,745 in detention fines and behavioral classes, according to the Times.
But critics protest policy, saying the school is making money off families. “We are absolutely appalled that Noble is padding its pockets off the backs of hardworking people by fining them,” Alexi Nunn Freeman of Advancement Project told WBBM.
Kevin Welner, director of the National Education Policy Center, told the Times the practice is essentially double taxation for parents who already paid taxes to support public school costs. “There are enormous equity issues raised by this approach because charter schools are public schools,” Welner told the Times.
Noble Street Charter School Network has responded to the controversy with a statement on its website: “There is a detention fee of $5 that only partially offsets the cost of teachers or staff who stay after school to monitor detention and a Dean of Discipline, security officers and other staff members who enforce rules and administer detention."
What do you think? Does this policy encourage better behavior or is it a raw deal for the kids and parents?
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