Truancy Prevention—a Class Act Off to a Good Start In 2011, the Santa Barbara County Grand Jury (Jury) issued a report

ways to address them. The only negative common factor identified by the Jury is the ¹ Education Codes §§ 48260-48273. time-consuming paperwork which is required by law if the District Attorney is to prosecute any chronic truants and/or their parents.² To address the recordkeeping challenge, the Lompoc Unified School District entered into a two- year contract with School Innovations and Achievement (SIA) to implement a letter-generating program called Attention to Attendance (A2A). After the letters are reviewed by the schools, SIA sends them to the families of truant children as required by law. SIA maintains the data base and is in close communication with the schools. This leaves the attendance personnel free to work directly with students and their families. After one year, using the A2A, the program has contributed to 9,957 increased learning days over the previous year, or the equivalent of 55 more students in class every day. Because state funding for Lompoc is based on attendance, the original $45,000 investment resulted in a funding increase to this District from the State of California of $242,374. Countywide truancy figures for the 2012-2013 school year are not yet complete. With nine of 21 districts in the County reporting, an estimated 665 letters were sent informing parents of their child's three days of truancy, only 167 students and their parents have been referred to SARBs. Of these, 25 were referred to Probation for review and 14 parents were cited for truancy law infractions. The Board of Supervisors, the District Attorney's Office, the school districts and the various support agencies are to be commended for their dedication in developing and implementing the CLASS program and for their ongoing efforts to support the educational success of all students. This is a status report and no response is required. ² Ibid. Appendix A Unexcused Absences (*12 periods block schedule) (*24 periods block schedule) 84 periods<br>(*56 periods block schedule) (*36 periods block schedule) 72 periods<br>(*48 periods block schedule) Number of 18 periods 36 periods 54 periods 12 days 3 days 6 days 9 days 14 days ö ŏ ö ö 0 ö A letter sent to welcome all families into the new school year, reminding them of the A letter informing parents of their child's unexcused absences and the relevant laws regarding A group meeting focusing on parent and student accountability, social and legal consequences A meeting with a team comprising of representatives from the school, the District Attorney's Office, Law Enforcement, Probation, Mental Health, Public Health and various community A meeting with an administrator focusing on addressing individual attendance needs, and School Attendance Review Board (SARB) A meeting with an independent panel of district, county and community participants with importance of education and informing them that school attendance is required by law. Community Leadership in Achieving Student Success 125 CLASS Program of truancy, and information regarding county and community resources. Santa Barbara County Description of Intervention possible referral to Probation or the District Attorney. District Attorney Informational Letter Truancy Mediation Team (TMT) where a contract may be signed. Administrator Meeting (AM) After School Meeting (ASM) Referral to Probation or the District Attorney Notification Letter #1 school attendance. organizations. Beginning of the<br>School Year Step 1 Step 2 Step 3 Step 4 Step 5