Little Rock Petitions for Tighter Control Over Truancy Cases
By: Brittney Johnson, KARK 4 News
Updated: January 17, 2012
Little Rock's board of directors voted for the city to have more control over what happens to students who are missing school and a way to shorten that process Tuesday night.
Right now the district waits until a student has nine unexcused absences before they take them through the court system. Tuesday, directors voted on a move to cut down on the bureaucracy to get kids back in class.
Walter Cockrane, a parent who also works for the district, showed up at the meeting to support community members concerned about recent violence.
"I think something has to be done about students missing and hanging around the streets," said Cockrane.
One of the group's main concerns was how to keep kids engaged and off the streets.
"When the children are not in school they are going to get involved with things they should not be involved with," Cockrane added.
But the board is hoping to cut down on the number of chronically absent students by supporting a resolution to petition the state supreme court for jurisdiction over the district's truancy cases.
Judge Mark Leverett said "Right now unfortunately our truancy cases take a little while to get to the court."
The report shows where the district reported students with nine unexcused absences to the court. In some of cases, it took two to eight months to schedule the first hearing.
"An uneducated child does no good for society," said Judge Mark Leverett.
As part of the petition, Judge Leverett is volunteering to learn how to handle truancy cases, saying the district court could process them in a few weeks or days. Not only could it save time, but it could help them save some of Little Rock's students before it's too late.
"Parents need to get more active in their kids' education and know where their kids are at all times cause the next child to get killed or hurt could be their child," said Cockrane.
This year, for the first time, the Little Rock School District is keeping record of the number of students with too many absences. In the first quarter, 190 were chronically absent.
Right now the district waits until a student has nine unexcused absences before they take them through the court system. Tuesday, directors voted on a move to cut down on the bureaucracy to get kids back in class.
Walter Cockrane, a parent who also works for the district, showed up at the meeting to support community members concerned about recent violence.
"I think something has to be done about students missing and hanging around the streets," said Cockrane.
One of the group's main concerns was how to keep kids engaged and off the streets.
"When the children are not in school they are going to get involved with things they should not be involved with," Cockrane added.
But the board is hoping to cut down on the number of chronically absent students by supporting a resolution to petition the state supreme court for jurisdiction over the district's truancy cases.
Judge Mark Leverett said "Right now unfortunately our truancy cases take a little while to get to the court."
The report shows where the district reported students with nine unexcused absences to the court. In some of cases, it took two to eight months to schedule the first hearing.
"An uneducated child does no good for society," said Judge Mark Leverett.
As part of the petition, Judge Leverett is volunteering to learn how to handle truancy cases, saying the district court could process them in a few weeks or days. Not only could it save time, but it could help them save some of Little Rock's students before it's too late.
"Parents need to get more active in their kids' education and know where their kids are at all times cause the next child to get killed or hurt could be their child," said Cockrane.
This year, for the first time, the Little Rock School District is keeping record of the number of students with too many absences. In the first quarter, 190 were chronically absent.
