ABC News Reporter Chris Nguyen, reports from San Jose, that the “official word from the California Department of Education” is that “parents cannot be forced to volunteer.” But late last fall, an investigation conducted by the San Francisco non-profit Public Advocates, found that dozens of schools across California, some in the Bay Area, had rules in place to possibly penalize students whose parents didn’t fulfill mandatory service hours.
This led to the Department of Education to issue an advisory, reminding public and charter school officials of Assembly Bill 1575. It states that they cannot force parents into volunteering, nor can they charge fees to families in lieu of such a rule.
It was welcome news to College Prep alum, Sandra Cruz, a first-generation college student whose parents weren’t able to be as active as they would’ve liked.
“Some have low-income jobs or they make minimum wage, so taking a day off from work would’ve been [an extreme] hardship,” she said.
