When Judges Bully Students

How to Stop Bullying in Schools

Diane Tran is an honor roll student who is serious about grades--her younger brother is number 8 in his class, and she wants to help him do better. In fact, 17-year-old Diane takes care of her siblings by doing more than just helping with homework. She works two jobs to keep food on the table. And Judge Lanny Moriarty put her in jail.

He wanted to make an example of her, he said.

Texas laws dictate that a student shall not miss more than 10 days of school in a 6-month period. But after Diane's parents divorced, it was up to this child to provide food and pay for bills.

That's not how Judge Moriarty saw things. He saw an adult--17 being legal adulthood in Texas, apparently--and he feared that if he did not put Diane Tran in jail, then an onslaught of truant teenagers would follow her example.

So from Judge Moriarty, all of you 17-year-old kids out there who are working 60-hour weeks to keep food on the table while still making some of your classes and getting A's on your tests, you had better not miss 10 days of school. Because there must be a wave of kids in exactly that position just waiting for a good excuse to miss a class.

You can read the full article here: http://www.latimes.com/news/nation/nationnow/la-na-nn-texas-honor-student-20120529,0,589866.story