Illustration by Joanna Wojtkowiak

State of Texas: How Truancy Is Turning Kids into Criminals

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A version of this story ran in the April 2015 issue.

Above: Source: Texas Appleseed

Instead of addressing the underlying causes of kids missing school, Texas—almost alone among the states—is treating truancy as a criminal matter. But a growing body of research shows that using adult criminal courts to punish students and their parents is not just overly punitive and inequitable, but also ineffective.

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