Yes, she should be punished but this punishment is overboard IMO

[theking]

..:

Homeless Mom Sentenced to 5 Years in Prison for Using Friend's Address to Enroll Son in School

Tanya McDowell was arrested and charged with first-degree larceny and served five years behind bars for the "stolen" education.

A homeless woman from Bridgeport, Connecticut, was sentenced to five years in prison for enrolling her son in a school district where he did not reside.

In 2011, Tanya McDowell wanted a better education for her then 5-year-old son Andrew, and enrolled him in an elementary school in the neighboring town of Norwalk — using her son’s babysitter’s address for registration papers. At the time, she and her son were living out of her van and homeless shelters, and spending nights at an apartment in Bridgeport, the Connecticut Post had reported.

The mother was arrested and charged with first-degree larceny and sentenced to five years behind bars for the “stolen” education, confirmed with PEOPLE by the Newark Courthouse Chief Clerk’s Office.

“Who would have thought that wanting a good education for my son would put me in this predicament?”