Truancy Prevention, Intervention and Mediation Procedures for all Stakeholders
The Truancy Program
The attendance specialist works directly with students, parents, school officials and law enforcement agencies with the goal of keeping students under the age of 17 in school or enrolled in the appropriate alternative learning environment.
Chronic truancy is defined as a student who is absent without valid cause five percent (nine days) of the previous 180 school days. If excessive truancy is an ongoing issue, despite supportive services being provided by the school, a student is to be referred to the Regional Office of Education. Upon receipt of referral, the ROE will immediately begin to monitor the student's attendance. Continued absences will result in formal communication with the family from the ROE with the potential for direct referral to the State's Attorney requesting charges be filed against the parent or legal guardian for Truant Minor in Need of Supervision or Educational Neglect.
Truancy Procedures
Step One: Action Taken by the School and/or the Educational Advocate
An incident of truancy is defined as being absent 5 to 8 days without valid cause from such attendance for a school day or a portion therof. The school will exhaust all district supportive services in an effort to remedy the truancy problem. The supportive services may include, but not be limited to the following:
- Conferences with the student during the next day of regular attendance
- Notice of truancy incident letter with follow up phone call with the parents (within 24 hours of the conference)
- Conference with parents
- Support services, which may include on-going counseling, class changes and/or psychological testing
- Assessments
- Mental Health Services
- Shelter
- Alternative Education Programs
- Tutoring
- Intervention attempts made by contacting the local educational advocate through home visits and other communications
- Local school district refers the student to the Regional Office of Education's Attendance Specialist. The ROE will then send out a first notice of truancy to the child's parent/guardian upon receiving the complete TAOEP referral form (included in the manual for truancy prevention). Copies of the letter will be sent to school officials.
Appropriate and necessary documentation of step one will be maintained at the local school district.
Step Two: Actions Taken by the School District/Regional Superintendent's Office
If the school district's supportive services fail to resolve a truancy problem, the following steps shall be taken by the Regional Superintendent's office.
- After nine days truant in a grade school or 45-50 unexcused class periods/blocks in a high school, the local school ditrict shall make a second referral to the truant officer using the second notice TAOEP referral form provided by the Regional Superintendent's Office.
- An educational advocate of the Regional Office of Education will make a follow-up visit/contact to reinforce the information contained in the first notice.
- If, after exhausting all available resources, the student is continuing to exhibit truant behavior, the student and parent or legal guardian will be required to meet before the Regional Truancy Board to review the reasons and consequences of the child's truant behavior. This meeting will be held in the appropriate county and will be presided over by the Regional Truant Officer. Also asked to attend, will be members of the Truancy Review Board which includes those people working with juvenile cases in that county, including but not limited to the following: Regional Office of Education, Sheriff's Department, City Police, State's Attorney's Office, and other related Social Service Agencies. It should be noted that failure to appear before the Regional Truancy Board may result in an appearance before a Judge.
- If the truant behavior continues and the child is beyond the control of the parents or guardians, a truancy petition shall be filed under the provisions of Section 2-3 of the Juvenile Court Act.
- Parents of children with excessive excused absences may wish to meet with the Truancy Review Board in order to avoid charges of educational neglect.