Govt drafting law to hold parents accountable for children’s behaviour
Government is moving ahead with legislation aimed at holding parents accountable for the actions of their children, with Leader of Government Business Barry Padarath confirming that a draft is now being prepared.
Padarath said the proposed parental responsibility legislation remains a “work in progress” and will have to undergo consultations and scrutiny across several ministries before reaching Parliament.
“The draft is being prepared. There will be consultations; however, the process has to go through the various ministries and the Law Review Commission (LRC) before it comes to Parliament,” Padarath told Guardian Media.
“It is a work in progress, and much more will be said on this in due course.”
The confirmation comes as the Government throws its support behind Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar’s tough stance on school violence and student indiscipline, including her position that students who repeatedly engage in violent or disruptive behaviour should be removed from schools.
Persad-Bissessar yesterday also confirmed that the proposed legislation, first signalled months ago, remains on the Government’s agenda.
“That is still on our books. We are drafting it. It will come. It will come,” the Prime Minister told reporters outside the Hall of Justice following the ceremonial opening of the 2026/2027 Law Term.
She again defended her position that parents must take responsibility for children who refuse to behave at school.
“People are telling me, well, you know, we can’t just send the children home, but if you can’t behave and your parents will not take responsibility, we’ll send you home,” Persad-Bissessar said.
Padarath, who advocated for parental responsibility legislation while the United National Congress (UNC) was in Opposition, has said the Government is throwing its “full weight” behind the Prime Minister’s position.
“The Prime Minister is not playing; you go to school to learn, not fight,” he said in a media release this week.
He argued that parents cannot continue “palming off their responsibility” to the State and teachers.
“Parents cannot abdicate their responsibility and expect the state to discipline their children while they party, fete and go about their merry way,” Padarath said.
He said decades of programmes and policies targeting at-risk youth would have limited success if parents failed to take responsibility for their children’s behaviour.
“As a nation we must come to the realisation that despite all the programmes and policies, if you as a parent cannot put a handle on your child’s behaviour, then you have failed your child,” he said.
The debate comes amid an increase in reported fights involving schoolchildren.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (Administration) Junior Benjamin said this week that at least 27 fights involving schoolchildren were reported in 2025, compared with at least 36 so far this year.
Police are analysing the figures to identify patterns and locations, but Benjamin said the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service intends to place greater emphasis on social intervention and addressing the underlying causes of violence rather than relying primarily on enforcement.
