A Houston area state senator is targeting the truancy problem with a proposed law.
This is the second time State Sen. Paul Bettencourt/(R) Dist. 7 has filed a bill aimed at chronically truant students.
“We’re going to refile the bill that restarts civil truancy,” said Bettencourt. “We’ve got to get back to where there’s a way to handle truant kids, and part of that is the school districts have to be able to go knock on doors again. They’ve got to be able to ask the parents to attend meetings, and there has to be some dialog again to find out why people are skipping school.”
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Bettencourt said the issue of chronic truancy became a priority after the mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde. An investigation by state lawmakers found the Uvalde school shooter missed more than 100 days of school, had been involuntarily withdrawn from the district and there was no clear record of whether anyone ever visited his home to find out why he was missing class.
During a civil trial involving the Santa Fe high school gunman, attorneys for families of the victims showed he too had been truant in the school year leading up to the shooting. Those absences sharply contrasted with the gunman’s perfect attendance record the year prior.
State law defines truancy as a student who has 10 or more unexcused absences during six months. However, the state also mandates schools notify parents and implement truancy prevention measures when a student has three or more unexcused absences during four weeks.
KPRC 2 Investigates reported in 2022 on the issue of truancy and how each school district handles the problem differently.
SEE ALSO: What are Houston schools facing when it comes to chronically truant students?
The state legislature decriminalized truancy in 2015, noting many students miss class because of hardships in their home lives. Truancy courts can meter out civil remedies to students and parents, such as ordering tutoring programs, GED classes, community service, or a range of other programs. If a parent or student is found in contempt of court orders they can be fined.
“I want people to go out and knock on doors from the school to say, ‘We care, we’re here to help.’ That’s what this bill is all about,” said Bettencourt. “There is lots of professional help that can be given to families and kids if they know they’re available and if anybody cares.”