In 1995, truancy became a Class C misdemeanor. Now 20 years later, it’s no longer a crime. House Bill 2398, which was signed by Governor Greg Abbott and went into effect Sept. 1, makes failure to attend school no longer a criminal violation.

Before Sept. 1, 2015, students who had 10 unexcused absences in a six-month period could face a trip to court. Students could be fined and those who were 17 could be charged with contempt and put in jail if they skipped court, failed to do community service or pay the fine. Judges could also have their license suspended.

The Texas Legislature has now decriminalized truancy; instead under the new law the school must issue a warning letter to a student who has three unexcused absences. The letter must state that the student’s enrollment can be revoked for the remainder of the school year if the student has more than five unexcused absences.

Under the law, the Texas Education Agency must create standards for truancy prevention measures that will be adopted by school districts, and establish a best set of practices for TPM. School districts that fail to comply with TPM will be sanctioned.

As part of the process, the school must determine if the absences are a result of a pregnancy, homelessness, foster care, or because the child is the primary earner for the family. If they are not, than a criminal complaint can be filed against the parents in court so long as the school can prove the unexcused absences were a result of the parents’ negligence. If the truancy plan isn’t working then a student can be fined up to $100, have driving rights suspended, or referred to the juvenile court system.

The school must issue a warning letter…The letter must state that the student’s enrollment can be revoked for the remainder of the year if the student has more than five unexcused absences. -House Bill 2398

This bill won’t refer students to a criminal court anymore but instead to a civil court, in where they won’t leave with a criminal record for simply playing hooky. Also, convictions or complaints that happened before Sept. 1 must be dismissed and records should be expunged. Students can apply to have future truancy cases sealed after their 18 birthday. This is important because thanks to HB 2398, students won’t have a permanent record that may risk their future.

And now, going to court at all is a last step measure. The goal is to get kids out of the courts and into TPMs that will address the real problems. The non-profit Texas Appleseed found that four out of five students sent to court for truancy are economically disadvantaged. Texas Appleseed explains that most of the time students don’t just skip to skip, but are often dealing with outside factors. The truancy prevention measures are now the first step to any skipping issues and is in place to help students with the real problems they may have.

In order to implement these TPMs, schools are now required to do more to address attendance problems. Schools will need to keep a closer eye on why students are absent and stress the importance of being in school. At our own campus, make-up hours are part of the consequences for missing classes. Students can check the list of make-up hours by the attendance office.

The bottom line is students needs to be in class. If they’re not, they’re going to struggle with grades, make-up hours and angry parents. But at least they’ll no longer worry about jail time.