New plan for APS habitual truants

ALBUQUERQUE (KRQE) - The number of habitually truant students at Albuquerque Public Schools increased last year and included some of the district’s youngest pupils, according to APS statistics.

So district officials plan to introduce a pilot program in the fall intended to nip the problem in the bud, said Kris Meurer, executive director of APS’ Student, Family and Community Support Division.

“We have to focus on prevention and early intervention,” Meurer said. “And if we’re doing that, then we’re doing out part in getting kids back into school.”

Any student who racks up 10 or more unexcused absences during a semester is considered habitually truant, according to state law. Last, year 15,785 APS students out of 104,929 total kids in the district – about 15 percent -- were habitually truant, according to statistics.

That figure was about 10 percent during the 2008-2009 school year.

"If you've missed 10 or more days of work, then it's really hard to make up the work,” Meurer said.

But, according to district data, some students are missing much more than 10 days, and they’re doing it at an earlier age.

Last school year, one-fifth of the students at eight Albuquerque elementary schools were considered habitually truant. Atrisco and Emerson elementary schools topped the list, with 28 percent and 23 percent respectively

For example, one kindergartner at Barcelona Elementary skipped 53 days of school. A second -grader at Mary Ann Binford Elementary was absent 68 days. And a fifth-grader at Bellehaven Elementary missed 96 days of class, about half the school year.

Currently, just seven people at APS are charged with tracking down and dealing with habitually truant students. Their work includes phone calls after the first, third, fifth and seventh unexcused absences. School officials send a letter home after the 10th unexcused absence. Truancy liaisons sometimes make home visits, Meurer said.

If school efforts aren't enough, APS can refer cases to the state's Children, Youth and Families Department's Juvenile Probation Office. If parents are still unresponsive, CYFD refers the cases to the district attorney's office.

But Bernalillo County District Attorney Kari Brandenburg said the goal isn't to prosecute parents.

"It's always been to use prosecution as a hammer to change the behavior and get the kids in school," Brandenburg said. "We have not prosecuted any cases for years because we simply haven't felt that it was necessary."

Brandenburg said her office dealt with 65 truancy cases last year, which were followed up by the office's part-time truancy specialist.

Under state law, parents of habitually truant kids can face a fine and possible jail time, but prosecutors must show that parents knew their kids were skipping school, Brandenburg said.

"Often times the parents aren't even aware of the problem," Brandenburg said. "It's a very difficult burden and … there's usually no penalty. So even if we jump through all the hoops, there really is no big gain."

School officials also believe that parents sitting in jail won't help their kids get to school. Meurer said

To that end, APS plan to roll out a new pilot truancy plan at 14 schools in the fall that will tackle truancy earlier. Health and wellness teams, which are made up of nurses and counselors at each school, will now intervene when a student misses five days, instead of 10 days.

Parents of truant students will be required to attend an in-person meeting with school officials to hammer out a specific plan to each family that makes sure students get to school.

"It may be, 'I work two jobs, and I'm not home when my kid has to leave for school,' " Meurer said. “So how do we work with that parent?"

APS plans to use existing funds and resources to pay for the pilot. If it works, APS hopes to implement the new truancy policy in all its schools as early as next spring. And while the district is unlikely to eliminate the problem totally, they hope their new plan is a step in the right direction.

"There's no silver bullet for truancy,” Meurer said. “If there was, there wouldn't be a truancy problem.”

The schools in the pilot program will include West Mesa High School, Volcano Vista High School, Atrisco Heritage High School, Albuquerque High School, Wilson Middle School, Kennedy Middle School, Garfield Middle School, as well as Adobe Acres, Apache, Dolores Gonzales, Hodgin, Los Padillas, Manzano Mesa and Ventana Ranch elementary schools.

> Habitual Truants by District and School Type

> APS Truancy Chart