Ministers approve bill to prevent parents from leaving kids in car

Teachers will have to call parents whose children did not come to school or preschool in the morning, according to a bill.

By LAHAV HARKOV
A child leans out the window of a moving car 370 (photo credit: REUTERS)
A child leans out the window of a moving car 370
(photo credit: REUTERS)
Teachers will have to call parents whose children did not come to school or preschool in the morning, according to a bill approved by the Ministerial Committee for Legislation Sunday.
The bill, proposed by Knesset Committee for Children’s Rights chairwoman Orly Levy- Abecassis (Likud Beytenu), is meant to prevent parents from accidentally leaving their children in their cars, which has led to deaths in the past, including one last week.
“This important bill is the result of many cases in recent years in which children were forgotten in parents’ cars and on buses to schools,” Levy- Abecasis explained.
Between the years 2008 and 2013 police received over 180 reports of children abandoned in vehicles, and 11 of them ended in death, she added.
“A quick roll call and timely report to parents can prevent many cases of death,” Levy- Abecasis posited, pointing out that several schools already contact parents when pupils do not arrive at school.
The Likud Beytenu MK pointed out that there are smartphone applications and other technology that can save lives by warning parents that their children are still in the car.
Levy-Abecasis said her bill can help children who do not turn up to school for other reasons as well.
“The requirement to report [absences] will bring up issues and allow educators to identify problems on time before they deteriorate to the point where the child no longer goes to school, which can lead to juvenile delinquency, drugs, alcohol and more,” she said.