HOUSTON, Texas – When we hear the word “truancy,” school is often the first thing that comes to mind. For many parents, encountering this term in a voicemail or report sent home likely means it involves their child.
On Monday, KPRC 2 investigative reporter Robert Arnold will release truancy data for the state, including the Houston Independent School District. His report will reveal how school districts across Texas are struggling to prevent truancy.
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What is Truancy?
The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines truancy as “one who shrinks duty or one who stays out of school without permission.”
The Texas Department of Education defines the word by placing it in three different data categories:
Unexcused absence: “Indicates a student who is required to attend school under TEC 25.085, and is not exempted under TEC 25.086, and fails to attend school without excuse for 10 or more days or parts of days within six months of a school year.”
Truancy prevention: “Indicates the LEA initiated a truancy prevention measure under TEC 25.0915(a-4) for the student.”
Truancy complaint: “Indicates whether an attendance officer or other school official has filed a complaint against a student’s parent or legal guardian under TEC 25.093.
Last year, the Houston ISD, the largest school district in Texas, recorded more than 60,000 unexcused absences across its campuses, in just one school year. The problem? The district failed to report taking any truancy prevention measures to the TEA, which is required.
According to the Texas Education Code, districts are required to deploy truancy prevention measures:
In 2022, KPRC 2 Investigates looked into how each school district in the Houston area handled truancy and found it can vary from referring the student to a truancy court to suspension, or even expulsion.
History of Truancy
In 1993, Texas became one of only two states in the U.S. to criminally prosecute children for not attending school -- (Section 25.094, Education Code – Failure to Attend School).
But, according to reform advocates, the threat of heavy fines -- up to $500 -- and a criminal record wasn’t keeping kids in schools.
According to Texas Appleseed, the previous policies disproportionately affected low-income, Hispanic, black and disabled students.
In 2015, the state legislature decriminalized truancy, noting that many students miss class because of hardships in their home lives.
Truancy courts can still impose civil remedies on students and parents, such as ordering tutoring programs, GED classes, community service, or a range of other programs. If a parent or student is found in contempt of court orders, they can be fined.
What’s next?
The circumstances surrounding why a child has been absent vary. This is why Texas lawmakers continue to push for school districts to report the issue accurately and to try to find solutions, since truancy can be an indicator of much deeper problems. Lawmakers have pointed to the Robb Elementary School shooting and the Santa Fe High School shooting as extreme examples. In both of those mass shootings, the gunmen had significant amounts of absences.
The Uvalde school shooter missed more than 100 days of school, had been involuntarily withdrawn from the district, and there was no clear record of whether anyone ever visited his home to find out why he was missing class, according to a Texas House investigative committee.
During a civil trial involving the mass shooting at Santa Fe High School, attorneys for the victims' families stated the gunman had 57 unexcused absences in the school year leading up to the shooting. The year prior, the gunmen held a perfect attendance record, according to court testimony.
Lawmakers like State Sen. Paul Bettencourt, (R) Dist. 7, want change. In December 2024, Bettencourt filed a bill aimed at chronically truant students for a second time.
Bettencourt wants a civil truancy process that would allow school officials to compel parents to meet with them or have school officials do at-home visits if students don’t show up to school. The bill will mandate school districts to come up with a truancy plan.
Bettencourt’s bill, which was filed on Dec. 12, 2024, will be considered in the 89th legislative session, which is currently underway.
The regular session runs from January 14 through June 2. Bettencourt’s bill has been referred to the Senate Education K-16 committee.
If the bill passes out of committee, then it will head to votes in the Senate and House. If the legislation is passed by both chambers it will head to the Governor’s to be signed into law.
If approved and signed by the Governor, the law would take effect on September 1, 2025.
