MEMPHIS, Tenn. – It’s just nine days into the school year at Shelby County Schools, but officials have already thrown at least one parent in the clink over excessive student absences.

Court records show the district attorney authorized criminal charges for parent Lashundra Cohnes after her elementary aged child missed more than five days of school. Cohnes was initially summoned for a court appearance, but a warrant was issued when she didn’t show and police arrested her this week, WREG reports.

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The district’s federal program advisor, Lakira Boyd, told the news site that Cohnes arrest is unfortunate because administrators “never want to get to that point,” but stressed “education is important and it should come first.”

Boyd said district officials called parents of students who are frequently absent before school started to remind them about the compulsory education law, and the potential penalty of 30 days in jail and $50 fine for parents who don’t comply.

“When days go by and months go by and they’re still not in school, they’re missing valuable information,” Boyd said. “I know some standards they cover in like a week or two, so that’s a lot of information those kids have missed within those five days.”

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WREG attempted to contact Cohnes, who was bailed out of jail on Thursday, at her home but no one answered the door.

Neighbor Michael Morani told KXXV Cohnes’ children “look like kids that need help.”

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Another neighbor said several other adults were aware that Cohnes’ children are not attending school, but have done nothing about it.

“I believe they should be arrested if they don’t let their kids get the education they are supposed to have,” the unidentified neighbor said.

“What chance do they have? Their parents are their only hope,” Morani added. “If you’re not doing the right thing for them, who is?”

Parents who spoke with WREG said essentially the same thing.

“It’s not worth the hassle,” parent Andrea Cole said. “It’s not worth the trouble, you should just go ahead and get your kids in school.”

Shelby County court records show Cohnes has four-page criminal history dating back to 1999, including at least seven convictions for driving without a license, several for driving improperly registered vehicles, two assault charges, violating personal protection orders, and a “child passenger safety responsibility” charge in 2003.

KXXV inquired with the Department of Human Services about whether Cohnes retains parental rights of her children after her most recent arrest, but the agency did not immediately respond.

WREG pointed out that Shelby County Schools offers resources to parents who have trouble getting their children to school on time consistently, and the District Attorney offers help to keep parents out of jail

The Shelby County district attorney told the news site arrest warrants for other parents are pending.