From the school’s perspective, state funding is based on the average daily attendance at a school. So more absences mean less in the budget for essential classroom supplies and programs. But more important than the budget is the future success of the students. 

According to a report by physicians at Council on School Health, “Chronic school absenteeism, starting as early as preschool and kindergarten, puts students at risk for poor school performance and school dropout.” And for older students, being chronically absent has been found to be associated with low grades and test scores, increased suspensions, and higher high school dropout rates—which can make it harder to succeed professionally in the future. 

From a social and psychological standpoint, school helps young people create relationships with peers and adults, and missing a large number of days makes it hard to build a sense of community and belonging, and feeling out of the loop and/or left out may make them feel more disinclined to return to school. 

Why are Students Missing School? 

There are many reasons a student may be absent, and understanding what’s causing the truancy or chronic absenteeism is important to find a solution. According to Attendance Works, there are four broad categories as to why a student may become truant: 

Barriers: This can take the form of anything from a serious illness, situation at home or lack of transportation or tech to housing/food insecurity.  

Aversion: This is when the student is experiencing things like anxiety, academic/behavioral struggles, bullying, or an undiagnosed disability that make the learning environment unpleasant.

Disengagement: Not being stimulated by school can mean they’re not challenged, bored, lack of support from and/or meaningful relationships with teachers and staff, or even work conflicts for high school students. 

Misconceptions: Some students and parents are unaware of the consequences and think only unexcused absences are a problem, that a couple days gone won’t affect learning, and that attendance is only important for older students. 

How Can Restorative Justice Help with Truancy?

While truancy can have many causes and negative consequences, simply sending a truancy officer to the home and demanding your child returns to school isn’t always the best solution. At CRS, we offer restorative justice services that involve working with the school to get to the root cause of the problem and collaboratively work to find a long-term solution. 

At its core, restorative justice takes a completely different approach than what you might think of in terms of “justice.” Rather than focusing on a “punishment,” restorative justice aims to understand and respond to the needs of each involved party, taking into account every unique situation and the contributing factors. 

For example, instead of immediately punishing a truant student, we may work with all parties and ask questions as to why this has become repeated behavior. Maybe it’s because they’re being bullied but are too scared to tell anyone, or that they don’t have a stable home situation and are scared to leave a parent home alone during the day. 

By bringing those involved together in a safe and voluntary dialogue with well-trained facilitators, restorative justice creates an opportunity for the needs of the student, the families, and the school to be met in a more “human” form of resolution. When the student feels their concerns are being heard—and that their actions have serious consequences—they may be more inclined to stay in school and avoid repeating the situation in the future. 

We’re Here for Students, Families, and Schools

At CRS, our goal is to ensure every student feels safe, welcomed, and challenged in school, which can help set them up for both personal and professional growth in the future. If your child is facing truancy issues and you would like to explore how mediation and restorative justice may help, reach out to our staff today.