EDUCATION COMMITTEE HOSTS TRUANCY COMMUNITY MEETING

By Harrison J. Bahe

On August 19th, 2024, the Education Division hosted a Truancy Event in which they discussed potential changes to be made to the Truancy Ordinance for the students of the Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation. Truancy is defined as the action of staying away from school without good reason; absenteeism. “If you are truant, obviously it means not going to school. That is the simple version of it. Or missing school or missing class in some cases. When you talk about high school, it’s missing periods. It’s not missing the entire day. Those are all common forms of truancy.” Dr. Victoria Corlett announced as the Truancy Community Meeting began.

The Truancy Ordinance was started in the early 2000’s as means to increase graduation rates as a number of students were not attending class. It has been largely unchanged since then. However, certain amendments were made to the original Ordinances in 2021 by committees and subcommittees during COVID-19 which is what Dr. Corlett wished to present to the community for public opinion. Some of the highlighted changes within the ordinance are:

• Allowing the truancy officer to provide interventions and/or alternatives.

• Transportation services.

• Provide intervention first, if no change, then take it through the court system.

• Change fining to start at age 12.

• Remove fining for not completing a disclosure.

• Remove referring to WFS and instead concerns are referred to the Education Director to work with families to create a plan to address the absences based on family needs.

It should be noted that none of these changes have been approved or aren’t official, they are just being presented to the community for public opinion. Dr. Corlett wishes to move away from fines. “It’s more about intervention and ways to help families. At some point, a possible fine has to come into play, but we need to have more interventions to start with.” The adding of transportation services has already been in action within the Education Division. “We provide emergency transportation now. We have some families that we’re helping transport in different situations based on their circumstances.” It has also been proposed to change the fining age to 12 years old. “Local reservations such as Gila River and Salt River both start theirs at 12 years old.” To compare, the Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation starts their fines at 6 years old. One of the most anticipated proposed changes to the ordinance includes removing fines for not completing a disclosure which is currently at $250. Those fines were stopped during the COVID-19 pandemic. “That’s going against the purpose of us trying to help and support. I don’t want it to be a threatening tool.”

The Education Division doesn’t fine families for truancy but that doesn’t mean they don’t keep track of absences. The following information ahead is applicable to high school seniors only. In the 2020-2021 school year, there was a total of 2 absences which would equate to approximately $50 in truancy fines. It should be noted that truancy notifications were a little more lenient due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In the 2021-2022 school year, there was a total of 55 absences which would equate to approximately $700 in truancy fines. In the 2022-2023 school year, there was a total of 106 absences which would equate to approximately $5,450 in truancy fines. Finally, in the 2023-2024 school year, there was a total of 102 absences which would equate to approximately $5,100 in truancy fines. “Keep in mind these fines were not for full day absences. These fines were for periods. The kids were either coming late to school or their parents were picking them up early. It was very rare that it was a full day of absence, but they did it so often that it added up to absences.” It should be noted that 3 unexcused period absences equal 1 full absence.

The disclosure has been a hotly debated document as many community members believe that it tracks their students in a negative way. Dr. Corlett wished to inform the community what the disclosure provides. It provides support and services within the community and with surrounding school districts, advocacy, tutoring, and recognition of achievements. It would also allow the Education Division to monitor attendance and student progress. “We tracked every senior so we knew if they were falling behind, we could reach out to them and create a plan that was individualized for them to get them across the finish line.”

These changes have already had a big impact on students. The graduation rate for Fountain Hills High School increased to 100% and 97% for surrounding schools. The Education Division hosted supportive alternate programs such as a GED program and a virtual hub for online students. Students can receive support from the Education Division if they’re suspended so no work is missed. They have also started emergency pick up programs, created tailored plans for seniors to ensure support, started a Good Vibes Program where students openly discuss issues they may face while attending school, started a Study Circle where students receive one-on-one support with their homework, and enrollment assistance. These positive changes have clearly been working since the amount of disclosures received has increased since the previous year. “That tells me that families are believing in us. They trust us to help support their kids and families.”

The Education Committee wants to hear from you! If you have any thoughts or opinions on these proposed changes, please put them in their comment boxes which can be located at the tribal office, the gym, the public safety building, and the library. “Spread the word. Help us spread the word. We want the community’s input.” Education Committee member Nita Sayles concluded.