A mini-demystification guide to common misconceptions about truancy
by Ty’Lisa C. Johnson, PublicSource
Too many unexcused absences from school can land parents, or a student if they’re legally an adult, in court. Under state truancy laws, a Pennsylvania student who accumulates three or more unexcused absences in a single school year is considered “truant.” In the worst cases, truancy can lead to hundreds of dollars in fines or years of court involvement. Advocates say truancy is another way students can end up in the school-to-prison pipeline.
Each year, thousands of Allegheny County families receive letters in the mail summoning them to court because a student has racked up too many unexcused absences. A PublicSource investigation found that 952 Pittsburgh Public Schools students were referred to the courts in the first pandemic school year. Nearly 2,000 cases were filed in Allegheny County courts between January and June 2021.
Advocates and truancy experts encourage school districts to avoid court involvement or punitive responses to truancy, highlighting research that shows it is not effective. Lawmakers and state leaders have urged districts to only use prosecution for truancy as a last resort. Even as state lawmakers, researchers, local leaders and truancy experts urged for further leniency in the 2020-21 school year, students were still sent to court. In the new school year, some have raised concerns about potential rises in truancy and absenteeism as students adjust to the routine of being back in buildings amid COVID.
Truancy has many layers. Here, you will find information that bursts four common myths about truancy in Pennsylvania:
Myth: Schools are required to refer all truant kids to court.
While yes, Pennsylvania school districts have the option to file a truancy citation with the courts, researchers, public officials and advocates agree taking families to court is not mandatory — and it’s often the wrong way to go. “It is an option to refer a family for truancy court. It is not a requirement,” said Hetal Dhagat, a Pittsburgh-based lawyer with the Education Law Center.
State guidance urges schools to support families through interventions, instead of sending them to court. Following 2016 revisions to truancy laws, the state said that schools should exercise caution and reason. The state also maintains that prosecuting for truancy should only be used when other, less punitive measures, like an attendance improvement plan, have been unsuccessful.
Growing research suggests that punitive responses to absenteeism such as court involvement for truancy don’t curb absence or improve educational outcomes, and in some cases, they worsened outcomes.
(Illustration by Xiola Jensen/PublicSource)
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