Orange County Schools are changing their attendance system after the disappearance and death of middle school student Madeline Soto.
Soto was a thirteen-year-old student at Hunter’s Creek Middle School before her death. Her mom said she wasn’t notified that her daughter was absent from school, when she went missing.
Starting Monday, April 8, the district will implement an additional call to parents if their child is missing from school.
Board member Alicia Farrant represents District 3, where Soto attended school. She said she’s grateful for this quick policy change spurred on by concerned parents.
“It happened in District Three in one of my schools, and a student who attended one of my schools, and so the parents in this community have been just coming together and wanting to see change,” said Farrant.
Orange County Superintendent Maria Vazquez said more details about the new system will be shared with families after spring break, next week.
She also said more safeguards are coming next year when it comes to parents monitoring their children’s whereabouts.
“Looking to next year, we are attempting to implement a plan that would allow parents through the portal to be able to see in real time if their child has been marked absent both at the elementary and at the secondary levels up period by period,” said Vazquez.
She encouraged teachers to turn in attendance on time to make sure the process can run smoothly.
State Attorney Andrew Bain’s office filed sixty charges against the boyfriend of Madeline Soto’s mom, Stephan Sterns, in connection with the teen’s disappearance and death.
Those charges include:
- 8 counts of Sexual Battery on a Child Under 12
- 5 counts of Sexual Battery with a Child 12-18 (Familial/Custodial Authority)
- 7 counts of Lewd or Lascivious Molestation
- 40 counts of Unlawful Possession of Materials Depicting Sexual Performance by a Child Ten or More Images
Sterns is currently being held without bond in the Osceola Department of Corrections.
Watch the full conference here, explaining the attendance changes:
***If you or someone you know is being abused, whether that’s physical, emotional or sexual abuse, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 or 1-800-799-(SAFE). Services are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week in Spanish and in English.****
