Police: Parents Kept Child Out Of School For Over A Year

Deputies in DeKalb County arrested a mother and father on charges of truancy after they allegedly kept their 11-year-old daughter out of school for more than a year.

Channel 2's Tom Jones was at the scene as DeKalb County authorities placed Tiffini Green and her husband, Kelvin Lovett, under arrest.

Authorities said Green withdrew her 11-year-old daughter from school in 2007 and never re-enrolled her.

The would-be sixth-grader cried in a back room as the arrests unfolded.

The parents face hundreds of counts of educational neglect, authorities said.

The solicitor general has made pursuing parents who don't send their children to school a top priority. "This is not about the parents. This is about the child," said Solicitor General Robert James.

James said the arrests are about intervening in a child's life and keeping them from becoming a statistic. Eighty-eight percent of Georgia's inmates are drop-outs.

Green first said she withdrew her daughter because she was homeless. She then said her daughter was homeschooled. "I had to take my daughter out because I was out on the streets," Green said.

A DeKalb County investigator said Green never filed any intent to homeschool.

Investigators at the scene tried to reassure the 11-year-old. "We're going to make sure you get in school so you can get an education," said one officer.

The 11-year-old's sister is taking care of her while her parents are in jail.

The parents will appear before a judge Friday.

Each educational neglect charge carries a maximum of a year in jail and a $1,000 fine.