Mother Jailed for Child’s Truancy : Courts: The woman had been on probation on a conviction of contributing to the delinquency of a minor. Her daughter is 7.

A 37-year-old San Fernando Valley woman who had been convicted of contributing to the delinquency of a minor for not sending one of her six children to school was jailed after she failed to make a court appearance as part of her probation, the Los Angeles city attorney’s office said Saturday.

Jacqueline Billingsley, convicted Sept. 9 in Van Nuys Municipal Court, was sentenced to 24 months summary probation and ordered to appear in court Nov. 10 with proof that she was attending parenting classes and that her 7-year-old daughter was attending a Valley elementary school, Deputy City Atty. Don Cocek said.

Billingsley was taken into police custody Thursday and spent a night in jail because she violated her parole by failing to appear in court last month, Cocek said.

A report released by school district officials also showed that Billingsley’s daughter had attended classes only 18 days out of a possible 48 between Sept. 9 and Nov. 25.

“The tragic thing about this case is that by not sending your kid to school, especially in today’s economy, you are condemning your child to a second-class life,” Cocek said.

Judge Alan Ellis on Friday restated the terms of Billingsley’s probation and ordered her to appear in court each Friday, for an undetermined period, with proof that three of her children, ages 7, 13 and 15, are attending classes.

Cocek said Billingsley told the judge Friday that she had occasionally been homeless since September and that she was under the impression that somebody was picking up her daughter and taking the child to school.

Billingsley did not explain where the child was during school hours, Cocek said.

Billingsley’s attorney and school officials could not be reached for comment Saturday.