There is a direct link between student achievement and regular school attendance. Improving school attendance is crucial to closing the achievement gap that many students face. The District’s approach to truancy prevention involves both early intervention and an aggressive truancy prevention program that holds students and parents accountable for skipping school.
Parents can join us in our efforts by talking with their children about the importance of regular school attendance and the consequences of truancy. Working together, we can ensure that all of the children have a safe and productive school year.
2008-2009 Attendance Improvement Protocol
Truancy Center
The Recovery School District Truancy Center, located at 639 S. Rendon St., is staffed from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. by RSD social workers.
The Truancy Center is under the domain of the Recovery School District, and seeks to realize and enforce the laws and regulations as set forth in Louisiana Revised Statutes Title 17, Sections 221 and 232, as well as, Municipal Court Ordinances 54-414, 54-415, 54-416.
The Truancy Center works in collaboration with the RSD Department of Social Work/Behavioral Health Services, RSD school-site administrators, City of New Orleans Municipal Court, Families in Need of Services (FINS), New Orleans Truancy Assessment and Services Center (NOTASC), Community-Based Organizations (CBO’s), and Parents.
The purpose of the program is:
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To empower and support parents of the Recovery School District by facilitating and encouraging the school attendance of their children in accordance with State Laws and City Ordinances
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To ensure parental accountability through education of the laws regarding mandatory school attendance
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To collaborate with and monitor activities between the Recovery District Schools, RSD Department of Social Work and Behavioral Health Services, Municipal Court, appropriate community-based organizations, and parents.
TRUANCY CENTER PROCEDURES
2008-2009
- The student arrives at the Truancy Center in the custody of a police officer with a copy of the Warning Citation. (Students 17 years or older, will be issued a summons and released on the scene.)
- The officer turns the student over to the duty security officer and provides information of prior warning citations, arrests, or exceptional and specific circumstances or situations.
- The Truancy Center Administrator receives a copy of the Warning Citation from the transporting officer and logs the student into the Truancy Center-Intake Log Book. Truancy Center Administrator also receives a copy of Summons issued and logs students into the Truancy Center-Intake Log.
- The Truancy Center Administrator notifies the student’s school of record and/ or the Hearing Office
- The Truancy Center personnel contacts notifies parent of the truant student and provides information from the school of record or Hearing Office (Parents are informed that student will be transported to the school of record or waiting for Pick-up. The Truancy Center Social Work Specialist also contacts the parent and informs them of the mandatory school attendance laws.
- The Truancy Center Social Work Specialist holds an individual counseling session with each truant student and logs the student onto the Social Work Services Daily Activities Form for documentation.
- The Social Work Specialist contacts the appropriate School Social Work Specialist.
- Truancy Center personnel provides student with three copies of the Warning Citation, one for student’s school of record, and one for the parent/guardian, and one for the School Social Work Specialist. The administrator maintains the original as an Office Copy for the Truancy Center records.
- Student transported back to his/her school of record or waits for parent pick-up.
- Upon arrival to the school of record, the student provides one copy of the Warning Citation to the School’s Administrator and one copy to the School Social Work Specialist.
- Follow-up will be coordinated by the School Social Work Specialist, who will maintain ongoing contact with the parent and the Truancy Social Work Specialist.
- Students may be assigned an in-school intervention, a Saturday suspension, referred to a community based organization, or alternative program at the school site.
- The Truancy Center Administrator will coordinate appropriate referrals to FINS (Families in Need of Service)
- Parents are referred to Municipal Court after students have been to the Truancy Center three times. Older students (beyond grade six) may be referred to FINS which is initiated by the School Social Work Specialist or Municipal Court Liaison.
- In the event a student is on suspension or expulsion, the student will remain in the Truancy Center for one hour for parent pick-up. If the parent does not pick up the child, he/she will be transported to Juvenile Bureau for further processing.
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