What can be done to improve the performance of underperforming schools in Monroe? This column has addressed disruptive scheduling and the adverse effects of extra-curricular activities on underperforming schools in past weeks. Another problem the school district faces is high absenteeism, especially in Southside Schools.
If students are absent from school, they cannot learn, but enforcing truancy laws is not high on the list of school districts, state child protection agencies, or city courts.
Many remember the old-school truancy officers from the school system who tracked down absentee students and physically brought them back to school. The last of that generation was the late Eulos Dyer, who amassed a reputation for knocking on doors, getting students out of bed, and bringing them to school as negligent parents watched.
It was not unusual for Dyer to be seen chasing students behind buildings until he corralled them.
Child Welfare officers today are glorified paper pushers. They keep records of absentees and file reports, but the days of actually hitting the streets and knocking on doors have passed.
These days truancy is supposed to be a legal matter, but the law is not enforced.
Louisiana State law doesn’t require children to attend school until they are seven years old. After that, State law imposes stiff penalties for parents of truant students. Parents can be fined $250 and up to 30 days in jail each time the school district carries them to court and proves its case. In addition, parents face mandatory 40 hours of community service or parenting classes, plus the loss of all recreational licenses.
The fines, jail time, community service, and loss of licenses would be enough, but there’s only one problem: The school district does not vigorously hold parents responsible for absentees, and hardly anyone has been prosecuted under R.S. 17:221.
There is no Eulos Dyer knocking on their doors.
There is no sheriff’s deputy or police officer serving parents’ warrants for violating state law.
No one has been sentenced to serve a single day in jail for the delinquency of their children.
No one has lost a fishing or hunting license.
No one has done a single day of community service for truancy.
School districts with attendance problems usually do one or more of the following:
—Implementing tough Attendance Policies: The District can implement policies that include requirements for parents or guardians to call the school to report absences, limitations on the number of absences that are allowed, and consequences for excessive absences.
–Beef up Communication: Schools can find ways to immediately notify parents of absentees that, include sending automated phone calls or text messages to parents, as well as posting attendance information on school websites or in newsletters.
—Offering Student Incentives: Schools may offer incentives to encourage students, such as programs to reward perfect attendance or even small prizes.
—Get tough on Enforcement: The district must use legal measures to enforce attendance when all else fails.
Academic performance at Southside Schools cannot be improved if truancy is a low priority on the district’s to-do list.
