Spartanburg County Announces Truancy Court to Keep Kids in School

By Connie LeGrand
Anchor
Published: October 3, 2008

School districts in Spartanburg say truancy is a chronic problem, and the county is cracking down.  On Friday, the seven superintendents and the Sheriff joined Solicitor Trey Gowdy to introduce the Spartanburg County’s Truancy Court.  It’s the next step if a student’s excessive absences can’t be resolved by the district.  As part of the program a judge will try to get to the root of the truancy and map out a plan of action.  It could include everything from mental health or drug counseling to electronic monitoring.

School officials and law enforcement know when kids aren’t in school, they can get into trouble.
According to Spartanburg District 5 Superintendent Dr. Jim Ray, “We know there is overwhelming evidence to show, that particularly today, a student who does not get a proper education has the equivalent of an economic death sentence.“  Gowdy agrees.  “If you ask me to predict how many seventh graders right now, will become involved in the criminal justice system, I would not ask you if they were poor. I would not ask you if they were black or white. I would ask you if they plan on graduating high school.  The correlation is undeniable between finishing high school and staying out of trouble.“

A student is considered truant after five unexcused absences or three unlawful absences in a row.  If district intervention and truancy court aren’t successful, a student and his parents can be then be referred to family court for prosecution.