Come September, truancy will no longer be a revenue generator for some counties.
That’s good news for Texas public school students and their families.
A new state law decriminalizing truancy, signed by Gov. Greg Abbott recently, means school districts will now be tasked with trying to find the root problems causing multiple school absences. It means they must address the underlying issues. These often include mental health problems, bullying, substance abuse, homelessness, pregnancy and poverty.
The strategy will go a long way toward keeping students in school, reducing high school dropout rates and minimizing the loss of state daily-attendance funds for school districts.
Most significantly, it means students will no longer be starting their young adult lives with criminal records. Truancy-related court records can be expunged, but it costs money.
Truancy is a big problem in Texas. In 2014, more than 65,000 cases were filed across the state, according to the Texas Judicial Council. That is more than all truancy cases filed in other states combined.
Under the old law, school districts are required to file truancy cases in court against students who missed three or more days in a four-week period — or 10 days in a six-month period. These cases often include fines of up to $500.
Until the new law goes into effect in the fall, Texas remains only one of two states in the country that still prosecutes students in adult court for skipping school.
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