‘We Will Call DHS’: School Threatens Parents With Call To Child Services In Startling Letter

A school in Salem, Oregon, is in hot water after a scathing letter was sent to parents of Swegle Elementary School students. The parent of an incoming kindergartner says she was taken aback when she received a letter from the school that threatened families with a call to DHS and a night without their child if they were not prompt to pick them up after school. The letter said the school would not hesitate to “call DHS” and that if they do, “you will then have to pick them up at court the next day.” The school says the letter was all a misunderstanding and that they will send out a corrected letter detailing what went wrong.

KIRO TV reports that parents received a June 24 dated letter from Swegle Elementary School in Salem, Oregon, which outlined the school’s plan to handle students that were not picked up promptly after school. The letter indicated that DHS, the Department of Human Services, would be called and that the child would be taken into custody until a court date the next day.

“Children must be picked up on time. If they are not picked up on time, we will call DHS and you will then have to pick them up at court the next day.”

According to KOIN, Chelsea Eichenauer, a parent of a student that will soon be entering Kindergarten at the school, says her “heart skipped a beat” when she read the harsh letter.

“My heart kind of skipped a beat a little bit, it’s pretty scary. It would traumatize my little boy to death if he couldn’t come home one night.”

A copy of the letter given to KOIN notes that the letter threatens intervention by authorities not once, but twice within the letter. Another line in the letter says that “if children are dropped before 7:40 the staff will call the authorities.” The school has apologized for the particularly harsh letter and says they will be sending out an amended letter explaining the error. However, Eichenauer isn’t buying it. She says that nothing was done to change the letter until numerous parents complained.

Jay Remy from the Salem-Keizer School District says that the principal feels “awful” and is apologizing for the letter. Remy notes that the principal did not sign off on the letter and does not know who sent out the letter. Remy claims it is all a misunderstanding and that DHS will not be called on parents who have car trouble or emergency situations. Instead, Remy says that parents would just need to call the school and inform them about what is going on in the “extreme circumstances.”

“Parents should not worry that if they get stuck in traffic their kids will be taken away. We hope that parents will be willing to accept our apology and move on.”

Do you think the school’s letter threatening DHS intervention was overboard?

[Image Credit: KOIN]