Tcl - Truancy in Colorado: a Truancy Reduction Model in the Public Schools - November 2005
| Publication year | 2005 |
| Pages | 19 |
| Citation | Vol. 34 No. 11 Pg. 19 |
2005, November, Pg. 19. TCL - Truancy in Colorado: A Truancy Reduction Model in the Public Schools - November 2005
November 2005
Vol. 34, No. 11 [Page 19]
by Lorenzo A. Trujillo
Lorenzo A. Trujillo is the Assistant Dean of Students and Professional Programs at the University of Colorado School of Law, Boulder - (303) 492-6682, lorenzo.trujillo@colorado.edu and is Of Counsel with the Law Firm of Cage Williams Abelman & Layden, P.C. - (303) 295-0202. Trujillo was formerly legal counsel to the District Attendance Office in Adams County School District 14.
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The author wishes to thank and acknowledge the work of his research assistant, Siddhartha H. Rathod, for his assistance in the preparation of this article. He also wishes to acknowledge the efforts to make the Truancy Reduction Program a success by the judicial officers and court staff of the 17th Judicial District, Adams County District Attorney, and administration and truancy office staff in Adams County School District 14.
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A version of this article will appear in Vol. 10, Journal of Juvenile Law and Policy (Winter 2006), which is published by the University of California at Davis.
Truancy is a key indicator of juvenile delinquency and has numerous ramifications on the adult life of the habitually truant child. This article provides an overview of truancy and juvenile crime in Colorado. It examines Colorado's School Attendance Law and describes the successful truancy reduction model put in place by Adams County School District 14.
Unexcused school absenteeism, better known as truancy, is not a new problem, but a historically present problem. Over the last decade, it has received newfound attention as the lack of school attendance, and its link with student delinquency, has become more clearly identified. In 1993, most school absences nationwide were not illness-related, with absence rates reaching 30 percent each day in some communities.1 In 2002, more than 70,000 students every day were out of school in Colorado alone.2 These statistics have monumental social ramifications in light of the fact that truancy is often one of the first and best indicators of academic failure, suspension, expulsion, delinquency, and later adult crime.3
This article provides an overview of truancy and juvenile crime in Colorado. It examines Colorado's School Attendance Law, the connection between truancy and juvenile crime, and causes and costs of truancy. It then describes the successful truancy reduction model put in place by Adams County School District 14. The underlying philosophy of this model is that truancy undermines the American way of life, which is predicated on an educated citizenry capable of making informed decisions in voting and self-determination.
School Attendance Laws
School attendance laws were first adopted by Massachusetts in 1852 as a way to curb child labor. By 1900, thirty-two states had compulsory school attendance laws and by 1918, every state had some form of school attendance law.4 However, these laws were ineffective in that they were seldom enforced and relied on excluding students from school, rather than addressing the underlying issues of truancy and developing ways to keep students in school.
Colorado's School Attendance Law was enacted in 1963.5 It requires that "every child who has attained the age of seven years and is under the age of sixteen years . . . shall attend public school. . . ."6 The law further provides that it is the parents' responsibility to "ensure" attendance of their school-aged child.7
The general assembly hereby declares that two of the most important factors in ensuring a child's educational development are parental involvement and parental responsibility. The general assembly further declares that it is the obligation of every parent to ensure that every child under such parent's care and supervision receives adequate education and training.8
Under the School Attendance Law, schools also are required to designate a District Attendance Officer ("DAO") whose duty is to enforce compulsory school attendance.9 The DAO is responsible for both counseling students and parents and investigating the causes of nonattendance.10 The Colorado legislature endorsed the importance of student attendance by identifying student attendance as a key factor in school accreditation.11 Legislators, school personnel, and families understand that if a child does not attend school, the child will not be exposed to adequate opportunities for learning and advancement.
Truant youths are often absent from school for such a period of time that it is difficult if not impossible for them to catch up. This often leads to further disengagement from school and teachers and ultimately can lead to anti-social behavior and juvenile delinquency.12 The traditional method for disciplining student delinquency has been to exclude them. This "push-out" method sends a message to struggling students that they are not wanted, ultimately forcing a student's situation to go from bad to worse.13 When a school sends a student home for not coming to school, little or no attention is paid to the underlying causes of the absences and is usually counterproductive.14
The push-out method was furthered in the 1980s when state and federal drug enforcement policies favored the adoption of zero tolerance for all acts of delinquency, resulting in the severe punishment of students, no matter how minor the offense.15
The importance of school attendance to achievement, engagement, and educational success has been neglected in most education reform and prevention initiatives. School discipline, zero tolerance, and school safety concerns have combined to produce strategies that are counterproductive by pushing the problem out of the school and into the community.16
Today, school districts around the nation are tackling the truancy problem by working jointly with courts, law enforcement, mental health agencies, social services agencies, and parents to identify students at the first signs of unexcused absenteeism.
Truancy and Juvenile Crime: Defining the Problem
Truancy has been identified as one of the ten major problems in U.S. schools.17 With absenteeism reaching as high as 30 percent in some communities18 and more than 70,000 students out of school in Colorado each day, the problem of truancy has reached epidemic proportions.19 Although some absences are health-related, many more are related to truancy, suspensions, or expulsions, with 20 percent of all school suspensions in Colorado resulting from truant behavior.20 In New York City's public school system, 150,000 school students, approximately 15 percent, are absent on any given day.21 The Los Angeles Unified School District reports that approximately 10 percent, or 62,000, of its students are truant each day.22 During the 1994 - 95 school year, 66,440 chronic absenteeism complaints were investigated in Detroit.23 The end result is that many youths are not in school and, consequently, are not receiving the education they need to succeed in life.
Truancy, often referred to as a "gateway crime,"24 has been linked to delinquent activity in youth and significant, negative behavior in adulthood, including an increased propensity for violent behavior.25 A 2001 article in the Juvenile Justice Bulletin states:
[A]dults who were frequently truant as teenagers are much more likely than those who were not to have poor health and mental health, lower paying jobs, an increased chance of living in poverty, more reliance on welfare support, children who exhibit problem behaviors, and an increased likelihood of incarceration.26
Truancy also is a strong predictor of juvenile problems, including delinquent activity, social isolation, gang involvement, educational failure, substance abuse, delinquency, teen pregnancy, and school dropout rate.27
In addition, high truancy rates have been linked to daytime burglary and vandalism.28 In Tacoma, Washington, police reported that one-third of burglaries and one-fifth of all aggravated assaults occurring between 8:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. on weekdays were committed by juveniles.29 In Van Nuys, California, shoplifting arrests decreased by 60 percent after police conducted a three-week truancy sweep.30 In St. Paul, Minnesota, purse-snatching fell almost 50 percent after police begin picking up truant youths and taking them to a new school attendance center.31 In Minneapolis, daytime crime fell 68 percent after police began citing truant youths.32 In Colorado, the statistics are equally problematic:
* More than 90 percent of juveniles in detention for delinquency have a history of truancy.33
* 70 percent of children suspended from school were chronically truant in the six months prior to their suspensions.34
* Almost 50 percent of expelled youths were chronically truant in the...
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