Truancy Court Bill Calls for Expansion

Pr. George's, Harford Sought to be Added

A proposal to use ankle bracelets to electronically monitor chronically absent students in Prince George's County, though sharply criticized and fast abandoned, has drawn fresh attention to a legislative effort to test the viability of truancy courts in Maryland.

A bill under consideration in the House of Delegates would expand a pilot program for truancy courts to Prince George's and Harford counties. The program has been in place in four Eastern Shore counties -- Dorchester, Somerset, Wicomico and Worchester -- under legislation passed in 2004.

The expansion is intended to add suburban and urban jurisdictions to what has been a rural experiment, said Del. Norman H. Conway, chairman of the House Appropriations Committee and lead sponsor of the bill. "We think it has had some real benefits in the lower shore counties in a short period of time," said Conway (D-Wicomico). There is no companion bill in the Senate.

Conway's bill has the support of more than a dozen members of the Prince George's House delegation, including Doyle L. Niemann (D), author of the electronic monitoring bill that was withdrawn this month.

That bill drew swift opposition from parents, many of whom said it would criminalize the problem rather than address its root causes.

Sandra Pruitt, a leader of the community group People for Change in Prince George's County, said electronic monitoring would "deal with the problem on the back end, and no one wants to deal with it on the front end."

"Our group was totally against the fact that it targeted a particular group," Pruitt said, noting that African American males are predominant among the county's chronically truant. "We felt, too, that this would be a reminder of slavery."

The move to expand the truancy court program is yet another attempt by lawmakers to curtail absenteeism among students. Last week, the House of Delegates overwhelmingly approved a bill sponsored by Del. Gerron S. Levi (D-Prince George's) that would deny driver's licenses to students with 10 or more unexcused absences in the previous calendar year. The Senate judiciary committee approved a similar measure last week, and it appears to have wide support in the full chamber.

In Prince George's, where more than 6,000 students were absent at least 20 days in 2005, truancy is widely viewed as one of the toughest issues facing the school system. The county's administrative judge, William D. Missouri, appointed a task force that is expected to report by June 1 on the feasibility of truancy courts as a way to address the problem.

Missouri said a truancy court might use sanctions, along the lines of community service, and he refused to rule out the use of ankle bracelets -- though not in the immediate future -- to locate the worst offenders.

The judge said that, while he would resist any program that criminalizes truancy, "there has to be a measure of sanctions because otherwise kids can ignore you."

In Somerset County, Robert Laird is the judicial authority to whom many chronically absent students answer. A former prosecutor who now hears cases as a judicial master, Laird was once skeptical of the program but has converted.

"When I worked for the state's attorney's office, I had, let's be generous, maybe five people thank me for something I did for them in 16 years," he said. Now, as he presides over cases in truancy court, "virtually every parent at some point in time has thanked the court for something we've done for them."

In Somerset, students are referred by the Board of Education, which functions more or less like a prosecutor, he said. Though they have a right to, none of the students referred to his court has disputed the school board's accusations of truancy. Laird then identifies the student's needs -- and, in many cases, the family's -- and the services that he thinks would address them.

The court does not impose criminal penalties, and the students are not left with criminal records. Rather, Laird uses a system of sanctions, including community service, and rewards, including gift cards and field trips.

"I try to find something they've done right," Laird said. "I keep digging until I find something to give them a card for."

It works, he said. One child, thrilled with the attention, drew a picture for him every time she came to court, he said. A middle school student's grade-point average rose from 2.0 to 3.5.

He said that only the most recalcitrant students are unmoved by the incentives and the sanctions. In such cases, he said, the bill would allow students to be referred to a regular court to be prosecuted on charges of contempt of court.

Students who complete the program, which generally means having no unexcused absences for 90 days, are called to the front of the courtroom, awarded a certificate and given a round of applause. Of 38 petitions filed in his court since November 2005, more than a dozen students remain in the program and 10 have completed it, Laird said. Others aged out of the system, left the county or no longer are involved for other reasons.