4 School-Related Incidents Your Child Could Get Charged For

Stories of school hi-jinks go back for hundreds of years and though it seems like some things never change, the laws and consequences for the hi-kinks do. As children grow and slowly mature, they may not make as good of decisions as a fully grown adult. When this is the case, some mistakes may occur, you may not expect that your child could be arrested. During the school year, there are four types of incidents that your child could actually be charged with, even if it's just innocent behavior. By being aware of these possible charges and working with a criminal law attorney, you can help keep your child's record clean and guide them on a path to being a successful adult.

Food Fights

The classic lunch room food fight is not as glamorous and goofy as it used to be. Schools have been cracking down on lunch room behavior, in an attempt to calm down unruly students and protect the property of the school. If your child is involved in a large food fight, they could find themselves facing criminal charges like students did in San Antonio, Texas and other cities. If your child is charged with disorderly conduct or vandalism in this case, it's important to talk to a lawyer as soon as possible. There are several factors that can impact the charges of this case. This includes who started the incident, how long it lasted for, and how much damage was actually done. A lawyer can work on lowering or dropping the charges all together.

Skipping School

It may seem like fun for your student to play hooky for a day, but skipping a lot of school comes with serious consequences. Multiple unexcused absences is officially known as truancy. A lot of states have different laws regarding truancy, but it can result in serious consequences depending on the age of the child. For example, if the child is over the legal driving age, then they could have their license revoked for skipping school too often. Parents could also be charged if they are aware of the skipping or have not done enough to stop it. By hiring a criminal defense lawyer, you can help eliminate some of the unexcused absences, protect yourself, and get your child on the right track. In some cases, a lawyer can present a written promise to attend school so that the truancy allegations are dropped.

Online Bullying

It's easy to post and write anything you want in a matter of seconds online. If those posts are threatening in nature then your child may find themselves facing serious charges. Making a criminal threat is a crime and those posts can be used against your child. Bullying awareness has dramatically increased over the past couple of years and it's important to stress this with your child. Online interaction should be generally positive. A lawyer can help your child avoid the charges by comparing other posts and showing efforts for improvement. For example, if your child was charged with criminal threats for online posts, attending anger management classes or seeing a counselor can help get rid of the charges and improve their social life online.

Senior Pranks

As your child nears the end of high school, he or she may be tempted to participate in some sort of senior prank. These pranks are not only dangerous and potentially harmful, but they could lead to a number of criminal charges. If your child entered the school during closed hours, then trespassing charges could be applied. If anything at the school was manipulated or changed then your child could also be dealing with vandalism charges. If the senior prank is the first offense for your child, then a criminal attorney can use their clean record to demonstrate a temporary poor lapse in judgment that did not have serious or harmful intentions. If multiple kids were involved, then the charges for your child could be shifted to another child that actually planned the prank.

By learning about consequences and different charges, a child can help get through school without any legal issues.