SAN FRANCISCO—On September 25, Kamala D. Harris, San Francisco District Attorney, and Carlos Garcia, Superintendent of the San Francisco Unified School District, announced that the District Attorney’s intensive truancy prevention campaign is now in effect for the 2009-2010 school year.
This is now the fourth year that the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office has worked with the San Francisco Unified School District in a joint effort to notify parents of the academic, fiscal, social and legal ramifications of students being repeatedly absent from school. In 2008, elementary and middle school truancy decreased on an average of 20 percent. Since the campaign originated, the D.A. has contacted about 1,500 students and families through truancy interventions, the Student Attendance Review Board and prosecution.
In a news release presented at the Web site for the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office, Harris states, “The numbers show that our carrot and stick approach to fighting truancy is working. We are shoring up the safety of our community for tomorrow by intervening early and investing in our young people today because we know that success begins with showing up for class.”
The program’s efforts have monitored mostly elementary and middle school students in former years; however, it is now extending to the tracking of high school truancy cases to provide mediation towards high school students who have been shown to be frequently absent from class.
The truancy court has been designed to target cases being prosecuted by the District Attorney’s Office, and it will now also involve a social worker from the Department of Child Protective Services, according to the news release. The worker will evaluate and assist all children and families who have cases pending in truancy court, whether or not the Child Protective Services had contacted the child or their parents or guardian.
As done previously, Harris launched this campaign with the release of a letter that will be issued by the San Francisco Unified School District to the caregivers of all 55,000 students of San Francisco public schools in 2009. The letter has been written in English, Spanish, and Chinese, along with correspondence from Superintendant Garcia in the same three languages. The letter will detail the dangers of truancy and the potential criminal penalties for parents and guardians who are not able to have their children attend school regularly.
“We owe it to our kids to make sure they get the education they need to be successful in life. This starts with showing up to school every day on time,” Superintendant Garcia quotes in the release. “The District Attorney’s help in reaching out to families to let them know the law and her willingness to enforce the law has been critical to our truancy reduction efforts.”
The release indicates that before the D.A.’s Office is able to address cases for prosecution, the San Francisco Unified School District is to follow a seven-step intervention process that includes notifying caregivers of the situation and providing direct support for families with circumstances that make it difficult for their children to attend school.
Families who are seeking supportive services in this regard are urged to call the San Francisco Unified School District at 415-710-STAY (7829).
