LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Under a new law from the Kentucky General Assembly, parents of students who miss too many days of school could be facing criminal charges.
A new law, HB 611, is aimed at addressing student attendance. It says students who have 15 or more unexcused absences will be referred to their local County Attorney's office.
Jefferson County Public Schools (JCPS) parent Jon Nichols has a daughter in second grade who he said had 12 absences from sicknesses and life events. Then he got a call from a school staff member over truancies, which surprised him.
"In my head I was like, 'maybe she had four or five that were unexcused,'" he said.
The new law includes a possible misdemeanor charge on parents which carries up to a year jail time and/or a $500 fine. An action, Nichols feels, is excessive.
"The idea of dragging parents into court is just not a very good look," said Nichols. "Especially at something like 15 [absences] over the course of a year. I do think it would just make the problem a lot worse."
To comply with the new law, JCPS will begin the mandatory referral process to the Jefferson County Attorney’s Office (JCAO) in October, with a total of 22 cases referred to county attorney's office in the first week of the month.
"The goal of HB 611 is to reduce unexcused absences, promote consistent attendance, and ensure students receive the support they need to stay engaged in school," a news release said.
They say unexcused absences are those not reported to a school or when a student doesn't produce a valid reason for missing school.
“Every child deserves to receive their education,” Jefferson County Attorney Mike O’Connell said. “My office will push an outreach campaign to guardians of children in grades K-5 who may be chronically absent because even the most conscientious elementary student still needs the assistance of an adult to regularly get to school.”
Letters will be sent from the attorney's office to parents/guardians of students in grades K-5 who may have 15 or more unexcused absences. The letter will refer to the new law and say their child’s lack of attendance could result in a criminal charge.
If you receive a letter about your student, it will say "to avoid any possible criminal charge, your child must attend school daily and be on time."
The letter also says your students attendance will be monitored to make sure the issue is corrected.
O’Connell said taking a parent/guardian to court is only a last resort.
“As these letters will state, ‘Neither my office nor the JCPS system wishes to prosecute anyone. We simply want your child to receive the education that all children deserve,’” O’Connell said.
Last school year, 24% of JCPS students had 15 or more days of unexcused absences compared to 11% in 2018-19, the release said.
The district said their absenteeism rate, which is defined as missing more than 10% of school days, ranked 41st highest among Kentucky’s 171 public school districts in the 2022-23 school year.
“Research is clear that students learn best when they are in school receiving face-to-face instruction from a teacher,” JCPS superintendent Marty Pollio said. “We will continue our best efforts to get kids to school through support and encouragement."
The release said all JCPS schools are committed to providing support and resources to help improve student attendance and school leaders are prepared to "use multiple interventions in an effort to preemptively keep a student from reaching the 15 unexcused absence threshold."
The release listed counseling, parent conferences, and family team meetings as intervention strategies.
Every school also has an attendance support team, school-based mental health team, and access to other district resources to provide wrap around services to students struggling with chronic absenteeism.
"JCPS will continue to communicate with families as attendance issues arise," the release said.
Nichols hoped taking the parent to court is used as the last resort.
"I definitely think of a more proactive, setting some goals, and trying to get kids to school before using the legal system," said Nichols. "So I definitely would just want to understand that more on what's the process, like when do they actually pull the trigger."
Nichols added he hopes the school system contacts the family for more of an understanding on the deeper-seated issue such as incorrectly documenting absences, missing the bus, or issues with the parent's employment.
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