NEWS RELEASE
Monday, August 8, 2005
FAIRFAX, VA - As society urges fathers to be spend more time with their children, one Virginia Father faces up to one year in jail for attending his handicapped son's class party at Springhill Elementary in McLean last June 17th.
Mr. Smith was arrested and handcuffed in front of his 8 year old son Liam who has Down Syndrome. Mr. Smith was held on a trespassing charge for the entire Fathers Day weekend in solitary confinement at the Fairfax County Jail (ADC-Adult Detention Center) before being released on a $1,000 bond.
Mr. Smith lives in Dublin VA and drove over 4 hours (one way) in order to attend his son's class party. There was no court order that prohibited him from attending the school event, his wife sent him an invitation to the party (per court order) and did not attend herself. Both state law VA CODE 22.1-4.3 and school Regulation 2240.3 require the school to allow non-custodial parents to attend their children's school events. Mr. Smiths son was happy to see him and even stated several times that he loved his father and was glad he came to the party. Mr. Smith was not disruptive and was well received by teachers, parents, and students, yet school principal Roger Vanderhye had Mr. Smith charged with trespassing and arrested in front of his son and other first grade students and their parents.
Mr. Smth stands trial Monday August 8th at The Fairfax County General District Court and if convicted of trespassing could be sentenced to up to one year in jail - a pretty stiff penalty for trying to be a good parent and show his son that he still cared about him.
More information about the incident including photo's, audio clips, and court orders is available at:
http://www.liamsdad.org/hall_of_shame/fcps/roger_vanderhye.shtml
http://www.liamsdad.org/court_case/court_case.shtml
Schools discouraging or preventing non-custodial parents, especially fathers, from participating in their children's school events is a common statewide problem. While state law and school written policy supports access irrespective of visitation, some schools such as Fairfax County Public Schools have an unwritten policy to the contrary and instructs staff to not allow access to non-custodial parents.
While spending fathers-day weekend in jail was unpleasant, Mr. Smith is working to make something good out of it. Mr. Smith wants to use the experience to encourage Virginia schools to follow state law and written school policy to allow non-custodial parents access to their children at school in order to make it easier and a more pleasant experience for other non-custodial parents to participate in their children's activities at school.
Mr. Smith wants to make sure nobody else has to go thru the same experience of being arrested and that no other children are left thinking their fathers/mothers didn't attend a school event because they don't love them.
For more information or interviews, please contact: Wesley Smith 5347 Landrum Rd Apt 1 Dublin VA 24084 (can't afford a phone, but if you send e-mail I could call you back) liamsdad@liamsdad.org http://www.liamsdad.org Mr. Smith was represented by: Office of the Public Defender 4103 Chain Bridge Rd, Suite 500 Fairfax VA 22030 Fairfax County General District Court 4110 Chain Bridge Road Fairfax, Virginia 22030 http://www.co.fairfax.va.us/courts/gendist/homepage.htm Clerk of Court, Room 232, 703-246-2153 Fairfax County School Board 10700 Page Avenue, Fairfax, Virginia 22030 703-246-3646 (voice) 703-278-8648 (fax) schoolboardmembers@fcps.edu Cluster Director -- Denny Dearden 703-204-3811 2334 Gallows Rd., Dunn Loring, VA 22027 cluster1admin@fcps.edu Roger Vanderhye e-mail: Roger.Vanderhye@fcps.edu Spring Hill Elementary 8201 Lewinsville Rd McLean, VA 22102 703-506-3400 703-506-3497 http://www.fcps.k12.va.us/SpringHillES/index.htm