The goal of the Truancy Court is to reach out to individual communities and families to help reduce the truancy rate. Its mission is to join together with local school departments, community mental health providers, families, and the courts to address the causes and solutions to fight truancy and provide youths with the opportunity for a better education.

The Truancy Court was created with the knowledge that a reduction in truancy has been shown to decrease crime, teen pregnancy, and drug and alcohol use as well as to change attitudes to enhance school readiness. The Truancy Court program started in September of 1999 with federal grant support.

During the last school year over 2,200 children, through participation in the Truancy Court program, have been given an opportunity to turn their lives around and have a real chance to have a successful future. Since its inception, an average of 76% of the children involved in the program have increased their attendance and an average of 62% have shown an increase in academics.

To date, there are 139 Truancy Courts held in 55 different locations in elementary, middle, and high schools within 33 communities including Bristol/Warren, Burrillville, Central Falls, Coventry, Charlestown, Cranston, Cumberland, East Greenwich, East Providence, Exeter/West Greenwich, Foster/Glocester, Hopkinton, Johnston, Lincoln, Middletown, Narragansett, Newport, North Providence, Pawtucket, Portsmouth, Providence, Richmond, Scituate, Smithfield, South Kingstown, Warwick, West Greenwich, Westerly, West Warwick and Woonsocket. Court sessions are held weekly at individual schools.

Since its inception in 1999, there have been over 6,500 participants in the Truancy Court program. The program’s intermediate goals are for 80 percent of the over 2,000 program participants to demonstrate an increased grade point average and for 70 percent to demonstrate increased attendance. The program goal is for all participants to graduate from high school.

The duties of the Magistrate are to conduct initial arraignment, explain court procedure, and review all options available to the student and parent(s). The Magistrate also conducts weekly reviews once a student has entered the Truancy Court Program. The Magistrate imposes sanctions for non-compliance and offers praise and encouragement for progress.

Additional court staff is responsible for maintaining all the files during the court session and documenting all reports that are presented to the court. Court staff is responsible for giving the parent(s) the necessary documentation when necessary for their employer, excusing them from work for court sessions. They are also responsible for keeping the Truancy Court running smoothly and working closely with school personnel to call the student out of class when their case is being heard. Court staffs are instrumental in maximizing the amount of cases that can be heard on any given day while keeping the flow of cases moving so the student’s time out of the classroom is minimized.

The school staff consists of the principal or a school administrator, the truant officer, the guidance counselor(s), the school social worker (when necessary), and an interpreter. The school principal or administrator is present in the Truancy Court because he or she can answer any questions from parents and supervise the other school staff to ensure the court runs smoothly.

The truant officer presents the court with the student’s attendance history including tardiness. He or she gives the court a brief history of the student’s prior absenteeism and informs the court of any unexcused days missed in the current period.

The student’s guidance counselor presents the Truancy Court with the student’s academic record before its involvement and monitors the student’s academic and behavioral progress while involved with the program. The student is expected not only to attend school and be on time, but to also keep up with his or her work. The guidance counselor also reports on the student’s behavior while in class. Teachers report directly to the guidance counselors, who in turn report to the Magistrate with weekly progress reports. The guidance counselors also assist with testing and academic placement of the child.

The individual school district files the petition (complaint) with the Juvenile Clerk’s Office. The petition then is forwarded to the Juvenile Intake Office for review. Once a petition is deemed appropriate, it is then placed on the Truancy Court calendar (usually within one week of filing). A student is not eligible for the Truancy Court if that student has any other wayward or delinquent matters before another judge. A summons is issued to both the parent(s) and student to appear before the Truancy Court located in the school the student attends. When the student and parent(s) appear for the first time before the Magistrate, they are given the choice to either have their case set down for a trial on the formal delinquency calendar or they can participate in the Truancy Court.

A student’s parent(s) are instructed to attend the first three court sessions. If the student attends school every day and is on time, the parent no longer has to attend court unless there is a problem. The student continues to be monitored weekly for the entire school year and at the end of the year, if the student has been compliant, the petition is dismissed. The goal is to let the student develop an educational work ethic so that he or she can achieve success without Truancy Court intervention in the future.

In each of the Truancy Courts, the local community mental health organization is present to provide the families with the appropriate services and make referrals to help the student and family cope with the everyday struggles of life. In most cases, when a student changes behavior in school it also transcends to the home.

Participants have a weekday curfew from Sunday through Thursday and a weekend curfew on Friday and Saturday. If a student is placed on home confinement, he or she cannot leave the house unless accompanied by a parent. A violation of home confinement or curfew could result in arrest or other sanctions from the Truancy Court. Only a note from a doctor, hospital, or the school nurse will excuse a child from school due to sickness. If a Truancy Court student or parent(s) does not want to abide by the Truancy Court criteria, the petition will be referred to a Family Court Associate Justice for trial.

Ronald J. Pagliarini - Rhode Island Family Court - Providence, Rhode Island