Judge Helps Schools By Disciplining Truants
A Saline County Judge is starting a truancy program and disciplining kids who are skipping school. Judge Bobby McCallister expects more than 100 kids to show up in court Thursday, Oct. 8.
Judge McCallister says if the court steps in, students will be too scared to skip school. He hopes in the long-run, this will help more students graduate from high school.
The Bryant School District, like many around the state and country, has students who skip school.
Spokesperson Jessica Norris says it's a problem.
"Even if its only three or four students that this is affecting their education, the value of those students' education is worth every effort we can make," says Norris.
About five percent of Bryant School District's kids are absent everyday or 370 students out of 7,700 students.
"The legislature says kids are supposed to be in school until they are 18, and I took an oath to uphold that," says Judge McCallister.
McCallister is starting a truancy program in which Saline County's four school districts will send students who continually skip school to court.
McCallister says he can order a vast range of punishment, from community service to fines for parents to even locking them up in juvenile jail.
"If they have missed enough and they're on the verge of losing credit, we will have a monthly review in court with those students," says McCallister.
McCallister says getting kids early before they miss too many credits will mean higher graduation rates.
"Part of the problem we deal with in juvenile court is that kids don't expect enough of themselves," says McCallister.
Most students will have a truancy officer, like a probation officer who will supervise them and make sure they're going to school. The worst offenders will have to meet with the judge regularly.
"They don't want to go see the judge. They don't want their parents to have to take time off from work," says McCallister.
"It shows them we mean business," says Norris.
Judge McCallister says in a way, he is cutting into the parent's role of disciplining, but a lot of parents are not aware their kids are skipping school, so it's actually helping them.
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