Charges dropped in Loudoun County tardiness case

WASHINGTON – Charges have been dropped against a Loudoun County couple accused of repeatedly failing to get their children to school on time.

Prosecutors dropped the six misdemeanor charges because the three kids were late only once during the second half of the academic year, according to court documents.

“The commonwealth’s goals of having the children be taken to school on time have been met,” the motion said.

Mark and Amy Denicore were first summoned to court in February after their children had 85 recorded tardies since September. They accused the public school system of unfairly persecuting them.

“We aren’t perfect,” Mark Denicore, an attorney who represented himself and his wife, said at the time.

The Washington Post reports the Denicores are just one of several Loudoun County families who have faced legal consequences for their children’s attendance violations. Other Washington area school systems handle the problem internally.

Though the Denicores are happy to be out of court, they feel an opportunity was lost to answer a key legal question: Should parents be held legally responsible for their children’s tardies?

“This has brought on a lot of unintended consequences,” Mark Denicore told the Loudoun County Times. “Not only for my family, but the community.”

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