Students playing hooky can cause families to face serious consequences

SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- Five absences is all you get. The new law passed this previous spring says that after five unexcused absences, schools have to schedule a parent meeting within 48 hours of the fifth absence.

To prevent future absences, once a student has reached the limit, an affidavit is sent to local prosecutors to let them know a student is at their limit.

Once a student hits ten total absences between unexcused and excused, it is considered habitual and reported again.

Parents could face truancy court, fines, or worse, such as charges of neglect.

The new law applies to grades kindergarten through sixth. School City of Mishawaka plans to apply this law through their middle schools and high school.

“Bottom line is we want students in school.” Dave Troyer, the Director of Student Services at School City of Mishawaka said.

“Bottom line is when students are in school, they will progress better, they will reach their potential better than when they are not in the school,” he continued.

Mishawaka attendance records showed a trend up, but this still fell behind pre-pandemic levels with less than half attending.

South Bend Community Schools are focusing on their past efforts for their future approach.

“We meet with principals, and we go student by student through data. Why is a student missing? What interventions need to be added to that student from there? Dr. Todd Cummings, South Bend Superintendent stated. “We do home visits we do calls. We do connections to external resources.”

South bend as well has trended upward, however, only 42 percent of students are attending as often as they should.

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