It is extremely important. It starts simply at the first day of school. Yet, attendance on the first day of school traditionally has been a disaster for Hartford. Unlike Hartford, Bridgeport and New Haven schools send truant officers out weekly to look for students who should be in school. The officers bring students back to the classroom.
New Haven has nine truant officers and eight dropout prevention workers on staff.
The judge's decisions are based on getting the student back in school, in counseling or in an alternative program, writes the paper. The Conn. legislature several years ago toughened truancy laws by requiring schools to take greater action against parents whose children are chronically truant. A parent who fails to get their child to school eventually can be fined or charged with abuse and neglect. Bloomfield Superintendent Paul Copes put in place a ruling that denies credit to high school students with 10 or more absences that are unexcused. Clearly we have got to demonstrate to kids that there are standards and there are consequences.