HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) - A central Pennsylvania woman who told officials she had trouble getting her twin girls up in time for school lost a ruling Tuesday when a state appeals court said children who start school as kindergartners are subject to mandatory attendance rules.
The majority decision said state law requires attendance for those who are at least 8 years old, or those who have begun kindergarten.
"Although a school district is not required to provide kindergarten and parents are not required to enroll their child in kindergarten, once the election to enroll a child is made, the child is subject to the (Public School) Code's compulsory attendance requirements," wrote Commonwealth Court Judge Robert Simpson.
The court by a 2-to-1 vote upheld a Snyder County judge's decision against Jennifer Ann Kerstetter. She is appealing a district judge's decision to convict her of three nontraffic citations for violating the law. Midd-West School District issued the citation over the girls' three days of absences from West Beaver Elementary School in November and December 2011.
Kerstetter testified she had difficulty getting her daughters out of bed in the morning, and had acted based on reading information online that indicated Pennsylvania kindergartners were not considered to be of compulsory school age.
Snyder County District Attorney Mike Piecuch said Tuesday the law's language was clear, "which is, it's not compulsory to enroll your kid, but once you do enroll, attendance is mandatory."
Piecuch said that for the school district, Kerstetter's problem getting the children out of bed was simply not a good enough reason for the children's absences.
A phone message left for Kerstetter's lawyer was not immediately returned Tuesday, and she did not appear to have a listed home number.
In the dissent, Senior Judge Rochelle S. Friedman said the intent of the mandatory attendance provision of the Public School Code "is to ensure that by age 8 a child is attending first grade, which a school district must provide, not kindergarten, which is optional."
Students must remain enrolled until they turn 17 or graduate.
