KENNETT SCHOOLS TAKE ABSENTEEISM ACTION

If children don't attend school, parents can go to jail.

Kennett public schools this year cracked down on habitual absenteeism by referring parents to the county's prosecutor for criminal charges.

Kennett Superintendent Larry Ewing said: "We're not interested in seeing that parents are incarcerated. But one of the parental responsibilities is that children attend school."

Missouri has a law called educational neglect. A parent or guardian who fails to require a child to attend school can be prosecuted. The charge is a misdemeanor; parents could get 15 days in the county jail, a fine of up to $300, or both.

At Kennett, nearly 10 percent of the students were absent on an average day, prompting the strong reaction from school officials.

Cape Girardeau Superintendent Neyland Clark said school officials don't refer parents to the prosecuting attorney's office, but have talked about doing so.

Changes in law now base much of a school district's state funding on average daily attendance. Average attendance in Cape Girardeau is about 94 percent.

Cape Girardeau County Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Kevin Zellner said school officials usually contact the juvenile office. Then, juvenile authorities contact the prosecuting attorney's office. The prosecutor sends a letter to parents informing them that it is a crime not to send a child to school.

"We send out a lot of those letters," Zellner said.

Rarely does a case go to court. Zellner estimated that in his two years at the prosecutor's office he has seen five or six cases.

Zellner said usually his office recommends that parents be placed on probation, with the child's attendance at school being a condition of that probation.

In Kennett, two parents each received a 30-day suspended sentence and unsupervised probation. One parent received the sentence on Tuesday, and the child missed the rest of that week of school. But starting the next week, the child has been attending regularly. The other child too has been in class.

"We're hoping it worked," Ewing said.

Ewing said the children in cases referred to the prosecutor missed a lot of school. One child last year missed 80 of 178 school days. Others have missed 30 or 40 days this school year.

The crackdown this year came after the Dunklin County juvenile judge and prosecuting attorney saw an increase in juvenile crime.

A school district committee made improved attendance a goal. The school district hired a truant officer and implemented rewards and incentives for students with good attendance.

Ewing said reaction from parents has been mixed.

"Some are encouraging us, particularly they are interested in our incentive program," he said. "Some were quite honestly surprised and some a little dismayed we were putting forth this type of effort."

But it is paying off. "Every month this school year our attendance percentage is better than last year," the superintendent said.

Last year Kennett had average attendance of about 91 percent; this year it is fluctuating between 93 and 94 percent.

Nell Holcomb Superintendent David Fuemmeler said the school district has average attendance over 95 percent.

When a student has trouble getting to school, Fuemmeler said he works with the Division of Family Services to put some pressure on parents.

But often, parents want children to be in school. "In many cases the parents are at a loss too," he said.

Jackson's average daily attendance has been 95 or 96 percent for several years, said Superintendent Wayne Maupin.

Maupin said when a child misses an inordinate amount of school, officials contact the juvenile office or Division of Family Service.

But the superintendent said, if Jackson was experiencing 10 percent absenteeism, "We would have to resort to drastic measures also."