The link between truancy, violent crime and how Louisiana is working to break

SHREVEPORT, La. (KTAL/KMSS) – There is a link between truancy and crime. District attorneys’ offices across the state are partnering with school districts and family service providers to find solutions to root causes.

In his monthly newsletter, Caddo District Attorney James E. Stewart, Sr., noted that a recent analysis of men 18-29 in East Baton Rouge Parish convicted of murder during 15 years showed a direct correlation between poor school attendance and crime. Stewart noted that in each sampling of the age group, chronic absenteeism during at least one school year was a common thread.

He said if similar analysis were done for Caddo, “I have no doubt these results would be similar in our parish. Truants are often the children of parents who did not find success in their own school or value education.”

During a January 10, 2025, meeting of the Louisiana Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE), a motion was approved for BESE to work with the Louisiana Supreme Court and the Governor’s office to convene a statewide summit addressing the issue of truancy and chronic absenteeism in Louisiana K-12 schools, which was 41.8 percent statewide in 2023-2024, with an average student number of days absent at 11.6.

Louisiana Chief Justice Weimer was in attendance and explained how the state’s FINS or Families in Need of Service program has worked to mitigate extreme issues of absenteeism and truancy without punishing families that may just need guidance.

“Judges throughout Louisiana have been dedicated to improving their communities for decades in ways that most people don’t even realize,” said Chief Justice Weimer. The Louisiana Supreme Court has managed the Families In Need of Services Assistance Program (FINS-AP) for decades, and the Court Appointed Special Advocates Assistance Program (CASA AP) for decades, and the Judges in the Classroom program has reached out to students throughout the state. If we do not improve children’s school attendance, unfortunately, we will have to address in our court system problems caused by truancy. We would prefer not to do that but instead support collaborative efforts to address root causes.”

Caddo Parish Schools Superintendent Keith Burton said the district has given particular attention to truancy during the 2024-2025 school year.

“The concept of chronic absenteeism and chronic tardiness is something that we, as a school district, must grapple with,” Burton said. He said partnering with the community, DA, and others in law enforcement is critical, but understands that addressing the root causes is where the solution lies.

“What are all of the cause relationships that are leading that family to have a truant child or a child who is chronically tardy?” Burton said that is the district’s focus.

He said the district and school staff can identify which students will have excessive missed days or late entrances early into the school year, so they are working toward a proactive solution before police and Caddo Juvenile Services are called to intervene, neither of which contributes to successful classroom outcomes.

“Before a child reaches the point of having extreme absenteeism, let’s work with them, let’s find out why. Let’s be able to provide partnerships and mentorships and work with the families on what are the barriers that are getting in the way of that child being successful at school,” Burton explained.

He says contributing factors, such as uniforms or transportation, are often reasons students miss school, but larger issues, like bullying or academic struggles, can also cause a disconnect between school and families.

“We’re working proactively with VYJ, with the DAs Office, with law enforcement, and all of our community partners to address this dynamic issue,” Burton said.

The Louisiana Department of Education Success Through Attendance Recovery (STAR) Program delivered recommended actions for consideration by policymakers and legislators that the BESE board said will be part of the ongoing student attendance conversation. Those recommendations include.

• Requiring schools to utilize an existing team to monitor and analyze attendance data.
• Keep the existing definition of truancy in statute, but create a discretionary referral process to utilize the justice system’s resources most efficiently.
• Adopt a formal definition of chronic absenteeism as students who are enrolled for at least 10 days and are absent 10% or more of days enrolled, students re counted once at each level.
• Identify ways to make past attendance history available to the receiving school system.
• Create a model program for guidance on reducing truancy in conjunction with juvenile court judges.
• Limit the number of days that a parent note can excuse to five per year.
• Create a standardized paper and digital form for parent notes.
• Require and improve the delivery of career exploration and extracurricular activities in elementary and middle schools.

BESE will announce the date and more information about the statewide summit to address truancy and absenteeism later in the year.

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