Missed School Meetings Could Mean Jail Time for Detroit Parents

An instructor teaching Detroit Public Schools parents skills to better help their children manage school looks through her notes during a class last month in Detroit.

—Corey Willams/AP

By The Associated Press

Detroit

The night Demarco Harris shot and killed a woman during a robbery on a Detroit street, his parents told police knocking on their door at 2 a.m. they didn't know where their 12-year-old was.

Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy said that's indicative of a larger issue in Detroit, where the lack of making parents accountable for their children partly is blamed on elevated truancy and dropout rates, as well as a recent rash of violent crimes involving teens.

Worthy has a new idea she hopes will fix the problem: Jail parents for up to three days for repeatedly...