FWSN-advisorybd-repo.. - The Connecticut Juvenile Justice Alliance

C. Increase
Enforcement &
Monitoring
Districts) and SDE’s progress in
increasing school attendance.
Issue an initial report on number of
“truants,” 45 “habitual truants,” 46
and the number of meetings held
pursuant to CGS § 10-198a(b) 47 by
district, school, grade level, race,
ethnicity, gender and enrollment
type in ten representative Districts
leading to an annual report in all
Districts.
Identify specific full-time SDE staff
whose responsibility is to track and
provide technical assistance for
truancy initiatives and to work with
the Connecticut Consortium on
School Attendance 48 to coordinate
statewide efforts to increase school
attendance. 49
Require Districts that are in the
process of being “restructured”
pursuant to Public Act 07-3, sec. 32
to include truancy reduction
initiatives in their improvement
plans that are evidence-based or
include “best practices.” 50
SDE
SDE
SDE
45 “Truant” is defined in CGS § 10-198a(a) as ”a child age five to eighteen, inclusive, who is enrolled in a
public or private school and has four unexcused absences from school in any one month or ten unexcused
absences from school in any school year.”
46 “ Habitual Truant” is defined in CGS § 10-200 as “a child age five to eighteen, inclusive, who is enrolled
in a public or private school and has twenty unexcused absences with in a school year”
47 CGS § 10-198a(b) requires that the school hold a meeting with the parent, or other person having control
of the child, to review and evaluate the reasons for a child’s truancy within 10 days of the child’s 4 th
unexcused absence in a month or the 10 th unexcused absence in a school year.
48 The Connecticut Consortium on School Attendance is a multi-year, collaborative effort of local school
districts and statewide agencies focused on improving school attendance in Connecticut that is organized
by the Office of Policy and Management’s Criminal Justice Policy and Planning Division. As of July 2007,
the Consortium included 27 school districts. For more information, go to
http://www.ct.gov/opm/cwp/view.asp?a=2974&q=383642
49 SDE has submitted to the Office of Policy and Management a Mid-Term Technical Adjustment
requesting $100,000 for a lead consultant position for dropout prevention and truancy.
50 The National School Safety Center has identified best practices in developing truancy reduction
programs. They include the following: involve parents/guardians in all truancy prevention activities;
ensure students face firm sanctions for truancy; create meaningful incentives for parental responsibility;
establish ongoing truancy prevention programs in school; schools should address the unique needs of each
child and consider developing initiatives to combat the root causes of truancy. These can be found at:
http://www.schoolengagement.org/TruancypreventionRegistry/Admin/Resources/Resources/8.pdf.
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