Back to School: Truancy Remains Growing National Problem with No Simple Answers

“Bueller....Bueller....Bueller...”

The sight of the teacher doing class roll call in the comedy classic, “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” still makes us laugh.  Ferris and his friends skip school to enjoy a raucous romp in Chicago on a beautiful spring day.  It was just a lot of harmless fun, right? For entertainment purposes, of course it was harmless.

But in real life, truancy is no laughing matter. As our kids return to the classroom, we are reminded once again that truancy is a serious problem defined by all states as unexcused absences from school without the knowledge or a parent or guardian. Unexcused absence from school is often associated with poor academic performance and is sometimes associated with delinquency, criminal behavior, and dropping out of school altogether. While there is not an abundance of national truancy data, some metropolitan areas report thousands of unexcused absences each and every day.

Juveniles who are school-aged are required by every state to attend school whether that school is public, private, parochial or a home schooling forum. That’s why truancy is called a status offense. It only applies to people of a certain age and that school age varies from state to state with most states requiring attendance from ages 6 to 17 or 5 to 18.  (The other most common status offenses include running away from home, alcohol use, curfew violations, and ungovernability.)

Any unexcused absence from school is considered truancy, but states enact their own school attendance laws. State law determines 1) the age at which a child is required to begin attending school, 2) the age at which a child may legally drop out of school, and 3), the number of unexcused absences at which a student is considered legally truant.

How the justice system handles truancy really depends on the how different jurisdictions and school districts address the problem.  Typically, the point where our firm might get involved with truancy is when the student has reached a truly chronic level of truancy and the parents refuse to get involved.

What’s important for parents to remember is that, depending on the litany of facts in the case, parents can be held accountable for either their lack of involvement or lack of assistance in resolving the truancy problem.

As any parent can tell you, kids have a mind of their own and can easily be swayed by bad influences amongst their peers. When we see these kids come through our office the parents typically not only have the feeling their child has been skipping school, they have been notified by their school district.  School districts are very, very good at contacting parents and advising them that this has been an ongoing problem.

If the parents are contacted by the school or by law enforcement, the next issue becomes how to correct the problem. There can be many underlying factors including alcohol or drug use or even something as simple as common boredom.  Clearly, if alcohol or drugs are involved, there are many ways to address it in addition to any resources the school district may have.

Recently, I was a conference where a group of municipal judges spoke about programs they have in which it’s a very hands-on approach with the court system, the school district and law enforcement. We can call it a “truancy court” similar to an alcohol or drug treatment court where this is continual monitoring and assisting each of the participants so that they can get over hump where truancy is no longer a problem.

In my experience, the school districts are typically very good about addressing the issue and getting involved. The trick is, if you don’t have cooperative parents or if it’s getting to the point where the child is out of control and the case is taken out of the municipal courts, we have to move the case to the juvenile criminal justice system. Sanctions can become so severe that the person being truant really has no other options.

For example, depending on the district, there can be heavy fines where the truant ends up having to reimburse his/her parents. Keep in mind, we’re talking about juveniles who usually don’t have the financial resources to bail themselves out of the situation. The court can also take a “carrot and stick” approach, giving the truant a chance to work it off through community service.

Presumably, all parents want what is best for their kids. Our best suggestion is really quite simple: be involved. Work hand in hand with your school district because the district has your child’s best interest at heart and they want to make sure the kids are doing what they are supposed to be doing, i.e. going to school.

If truancy becomes a persistent problem where law enforcement needs to be involved, obviously additional steps need to be taken.  You may need to speak with an attorney or, if there are underlying issues such as alcohol or drug abuse, additional steps will need to be taken to deal with the substance abuse.

Should you find yourself needing to consult an attorney about a truancy problem with your child, here are a few questions to consider:

• What should I do if I can't afford to pay a fine I was ordered to pay because of my child's truancy?
• My daughter had a truancy problem as a freshman in high school, but she's had no problems since. She's getting ready to graduate and now we're wondering if the truancy problem is in her school records and if it will hurt her chances of getting into college? Can we get the truancy information removed from her record?
• My son was arrested by a truancy officer. Does that mean he now has a criminal record?

For more information about truancy, visit www.truancyprevention.org.

About Attorney Mark Powers
Attorney Mark Powers is a partner at the criminal defense law firm of Huppertz & Powers, S.C. in Waukesha. Previously, Powers served as an Assistant District Attorney with the Waukesha County District Attorney's office and is currently serving as a municipal judge in North Prairie. He focuses in the area of criminal defense, and has handled many cases involving operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated, domestic disputes, and drug offenses.

Powers attended Valparaiso University School of Law, where he received his Juris Doctorate. Prior to law school, Mark attended the University of Wisconsin, Lacrosse where he received his bachelor of science in Political Science.

For more information, please call 262.549.5979 or visit www.waukeshacriminalattorneys.com.