State of Texas: How Truancy Is Turning Kids into Criminals

Source: Texas Appleseed
Source: Texas Appleseed Illustration by Joanna Wojtkowiak
Apr 24, 2015, 3:14 pm CST

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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Forrest Wilder, a native of Wimberley, Texas, is the editor of the Observer.


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