LaredoBuzz.Com

Courtesy Carmen Rendon,

(Laredo, Tx)- School tardiness and absences come at a high cost in the State of Texas. Gone are the days of detention and writing lines on the chalkboard, now students and their parents are fined and even jailed.  Truancy courts are designed to assist school students to overcome the underlying causes of truancy by reinforcing and combining efforts from the schools, courts, families and the community.  The administrative staff of Los Obispos Middle School (UISD) is taking a proactive approach early in the school year in learning all the facts about truancy.

During a school assembly, the 6^th, 7^th and 8^th graders of Los Obispos Middle School gathered in the library and listened closely as honored guest speaker, Judge Ramiro Veliz of Precinct One addressed truancy issues.   UISD Board of Trustee Rick Rodriguez joined in and together they spoke about the realization of truancy and the importance of attending school daily. 

 “Failure to attend school is a Class C misdemeanor, and parents can be fined up to $500 for each day a student misses,” Judge Veliz explained.  Parents who do not appear in truancy court may face charges for failure to appear.   He adds, “When I took office seven years ago as the Justice of the Peace, I was astonished with the amount of truancy cases being presented.  Today, those numbers have decreased from 60 cases to 15.”

 Students signed an attendance oath pledging that they will not be absent, tardy and will be leaders not followers.