Montgomery County State’s Attorney John McCarthy on Monday criticized high numbers of student absences from local schools. He told members of a County Council committee that more funding for truancy prevention could help address the issue.
In 2015-16, the most recent data available, about 18.5% — or 28,000 — of all Montgomery County Public Schools students were chronically absent. That means they missed 15 or more days of school in the academic year, according to school district data.
McCarthy on Monday said he believes 8,000 to 9,000 MCPS students are “habitually truant” each year, meaning they miss at least 18 days per semester for an unexcused reason.
McCarthy pointed to a recent Washington Post article that said at some Montgomery County schools in the 2018-19 school year, more than 40% of students missed 10 to 50 days of classes in a semester.
“I was shocked,” he said. “We’ve changed the grading policy so attendance doesn’t matter and I think that’s crazy. There’s maybe a lack of consistency in the county in regards to a policy about that.”
McCarthy said the county’s truancy prevention program is one of his top priorities when exploring initiatives that could use more funding and expansion.
About 90% of students who participate in the program, which operates at 19 of the county’s 207 public schools, are “black or brown,” McCarthy said.
The Montgomery County program begin in 2010 is intended to be an early intervention program that “addresses the root causes of truancy,” by addressing “academic, school, personal and family-related factors that may cause a student to miss class,” according to the program’s website.
Volunteers who include former principals and school board members and law enforcement professionals run the truancy prevention program. It served more than 300 families during the 2017-18 school year, with 157 students successfully completing the program.
Students who reduce truancy by 60% or more after joining the program are eligible for a “graduation” ceremony.
“This program really applauds young people for turning their lives around … and brings families closer together,” County Council Vice President Sydney Katz said. “It’s a sense of pride. If you can keep students in school, you’re saving a lot of steps down the road.”
MCPS staff members have said consistently absent students are more likely to drop out.
Since the beginning of the 2015-16 school year, 2,151 MCPS students have stopped attending school, according to MCPS data.
MCPS data show students who are minorities and do not speak English as their first language were the most likely to drop out. About half of the students who dropped out of school during the 2017-18 school year were English language learners.
Caitlynn Peetz can be reached at caitlynn.peetz@moco360.media
