There is a lot going on with this…
Obviously, if they are lying, this is a different issue.
However, I will add a few things to the conversation.
#1 – Disciplining for behavior after school is the norm. Schools have legal responsibility for students until they are safely home or with parent. If a child gets in a fight half-way home walking from school, we are required to discipline them.
#2 – Walking off campus varies by the school’s policies. My children’s elementary does not allow them off campus without staff verifying that an adult is present to take them. I work in a K8 school. Middle schoolers can walk home with written-parental permission. Elementary students must be picked up unless walking home with an older sibling with written parental permission.
#3 – Here in CA, attendance is legally mandated. Depending on where you are, they can and will write citations for parents that refuse to send a child to school.
#4 – 504 and IEPs have an affirmative responsibility to seek and serve. If a child could potentially qualify, they may have failed this mandate.