Dr. Benson joins U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar at a news conference on September 3, 2009.
U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar held a news conference at Mounds View Public Schools in Mounds View, Minnesota, to announce national anti-truancy legislation (see below for more details on the bill) that she is introducing in the Senate this month. She also highlighted the changes she wants to see in the federal No Child Left Behind law, which is up for reauthorization by Congress this year.
Peter Benson, President and CEO of Search Institute, played a major role in the news conference as he addressed the need for Klobuchar’s “Student Attendance Success Act,” which brings attention to the lack of federal legislation to identify specific identifiers and factors, developed in middle school (grades five to nine), that lead to later truancy in school.
Studies show that truancy issues are community problems, not just school problems. Absenteeism is detrimental to students’ achievement, promotion, graduation, self-esteem, and employment potential. Clearly, students who miss school fall behind their peers in the classroom; this, in turn, leads to low self-esteem and increases the likelihood that the student will drop out of school.
Benson cited the Search Institute’s BARR (Building Assets—Reducing Risks) program and how it not only improves truancy rates, but also decreases other risk factors such as alcohol and tobacco use. Angie Jerabek, who leads the BARR program at St. Louis Park Schools in Minnesota was at the press conference. Senator Klobuchar called on Ms. Jerabek to talk about the BARR program and the need for more programs like it.
Read Kare 11’s article on Klobuchar’s efforts
Summary of Proposed Truancy Legislation
Truancy and dropout rate problems are often miscategorized, and only addressed as high school problems affecting students in their later secondary years. However, attendance and truancy issues typically develop in the lower grades:
Truant elementary school students tend to be part of families that are disengaged from education and are inclined to have other problems as well. The causes of elementary school truancy are generally addressed outside the school environment.
Truant middle school students are typically found to have lower self-esteem and feelings of rejection that often result in poor academic performance followed by truancy. Unlike elementary school, causes of middle school truancy can often be appropriately addressed within the school environment.
There is currently no federal legislation focusing on the specific identifiers and factors that develop at the middle school age that lead to later truancy. With this in mind, the focus of this legislation will be on middle school age students (grades 5 through 9).
The ill consists of three components that support programs and practices to help young people:
1. Grant program—the bill will create a discretionary grant program through the U.S. Department of Education for school districts with a documented history of significant truancy in grades five though nine.
2. Uniform definition and data collection—the bill will determine the definition of truancy for all U.S. schools in order to eliminate inconsistencies in truancy data.
3. National resource center—the bill will establish a national resource center to serve as a clearinghouse for schools, principals, school officers, parent-teacher associations, and community groups to receive free information to infuse innovative strategies that engage students in their school.
