Truancy in the State of Nebraska

Bethany Reynolds

Seminar in Criminal Justice: CJUS 495

April 29, 2011

Dr. Douglas Devaney

Table of Contents

Introduction 3

Literature Review 3

Lawmaker, judges say truancy can lead to bigger problems. 3

…survey examines school fear and truancy. 4

Effective truancy intervention. 4

Bunking off: the impact of truancy on pupils and teachers. 5

School absenteeism and the implementation of truancy-related penalty notices. 5

Truancy offenders in the juvenile justice system. 5

Truancy offenders in the juvenile justice system: a multicohort study. 5

Evaluation of a truancy court intervention in four middle schools. 6

theory 6

Causes and effects of truancy. 6

Effects of truancy. 7

Interview with Dawn Baker. 8

position 8

Leaders making a stand for truancy 9

Governor Dave Heineman on truancy. 9

Chief Justice Mike Heavican on truancy. 10

Alternative Position 10

Schools. 10

Families. 11

Community. 11

Community-based programs. 12

TeamMates of Metro Omaha. 12

The Partnership for Our Kids. 13

Building Bright Futures. 13

Critical Reflection 14

recommendation / Conclusion 15

References 16

Introduction

The State of Nebraska is experiencing record high rates in truancy. If this problem is ignored, the State of Nebraska will not only continue to see an increase in truancy, but also an increase in juvenile cases pushed the court systems, an increase in criminal behavior and a decrease in community strength and stability.

“Truancy has been identified as one of the top 10 educational problems in the United States and is considered an important predictor of later delinquent behavior” (Dalun, 2007). There are many definitions of truancy. Essentially, truancy is an unexcused absence that occurs beyond the limit established by the school. For example, School A’s rule is that a student can only miss eight days per semester or four days per quarter. Any student who misses more than eight days in a given semester or more...