In a presentation to Fort Bend ISD’s board of trustees Aug. 8, district staff described an increase in truancy cases during the 2015-16 academic year, compared to the previous year. In 2015-16, FBISD counted 3,451 truant students, versus 2,876 truant students in the 2014-15 school year. Staff cited the effects of changed truancy legislation and a disconnect among students as partial reasons for the increase in cases. “Between the focus groups, talking to students and talking to administrators, we really found that one of the big misconceptions was that the students really felt like truancy didn’t exist,” said Dawn Carlson, FBISD director of student affairs. As of Sept. 1, 2015, truancy is no longer a criminal offense and school districts have more discretion as to whether they refer truant students—those with 10 or more unexcused absences in a six-month period—to truancy court, a civil rather than criminal court. As a result of the law change, FBISD made 86 truancy referrals in the 2015-16 academic year, versus 3,708 referrals in the previous school year. “There was no consequences within the courts,” Carlson said. “It’s civil now, and so it’s a little bit different than what they dealt with before if they had been to the courts before,” Carlson said. The focus groups were part of efforts undertaken by the district over the past school year to address truancy district-wide. These efforts also included additional social worker support at Marshall High School, and a dropout prevention specialist at Hightower High School. Carlson also said students reported feeling disconnected to school and unmotivated to attend. She and FBISD Deputy Superintendent Christie Whitbeck recommended finding ways to keep students engaged in programs as a way to reduce truancy. The board of trustees is expected to approve a memorandum of understanding with Fort Bend County that allocates $240,000 for six juvenile case workers to act as liaisons between the courts and FBISD. Case workers in FBISD’s Saved By The Bell truancy prevention program made 452 home visits and counseled 1,789 students in the last school year, Whitbeck said. “The role of the case worker changed, from being more of a reactive role to a proactive role,” she said. Whitbeck and Carlson recommended continued use of Saved By The Bell and separating truancy diversion into elementary and secondary sessions. They also suggested holding more student focus groups, having an additional half-day social worker for Marshall and Willowridge high schools, and hiring additional attendance clerks at each high school. “There’s a lot of room for error and a lot of extra attention that can be paid to calling a parent, saying, ‘we don’t have Susie’s excuse note. Where is that?’ … and things like that,” Whitbeck said.