Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Dumanis Skips School

In California, truancy is defined and enforced per Education Code Section 48260. In compliance, the San Diego Unified School District operates a School Attendance Review Board with a staff of ten employees responsible for calculating attendance and publishing monthly reports. Some staff also trains school staff in attendance and enrollment procedures, while others conduct school site audits to ensure report accuracy and district compliance. According to District spokesperson, Bernie Reinerson, approximately 1000 students are chronic truants costing the district about $3.6 billion annually in state funds, or on average $3,600 per chronic truant. In response, School Trustee Kevin Beiser requested assistance from San Diego District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis. While the district regularly circulates its own “Attendance Letters”, the SDUSD/DA partnership resulted in a letter written by the DA that was mailed to parents at their homes this week, at school district expense. SDUSD 2009-2010 School Year: Top Contenders % Student Truancies: Elementary: Carver, 23.67; Knox, 24.46; Riley, 50.00 Middle: Whittier, 40.00; Riley, 62.75; Unified Day, 69.70 High School: Alba, 61.21; Marcy Day, 70.24; Unified Day, 85.71 Current policy requires several mandates and interventions occur prior to a Juvenile Court referral for truants. Potential penalties include jail time and/or fines for parents. Beyond the loss of funds, truancy studies data obtained from The Children's Initiative, a non-profit San Diego County agency, indicate students who chronically miss school are more likely to dropout from high school and as a result, be poorer, unemployed, have substance abuse problems, become teen parents and be involved with the law.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all

Previous article

Two poems by Marvin Bell

“To Dorothy” and “The Self and the Mulberry”

In California, truancy is defined and enforced per Education Code Section 48260. In compliance, the San Diego Unified School District operates a School Attendance Review Board with a staff of ten employees responsible for calculating attendance and publishing monthly reports. Some staff also trains school staff in attendance and enrollment procedures, while others conduct school site audits to ensure report accuracy and district compliance. According to District spokesperson, Bernie Reinerson, approximately 1000 students are chronic truants costing the district about $3.6 billion annually in state funds, or on average $3,600 per chronic truant. In response, School Trustee Kevin Beiser requested assistance from San Diego District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis. While the district regularly circulates its own “Attendance Letters”, the SDUSD/DA partnership resulted in a letter written by the DA that was mailed to parents at their homes this week, at school district expense. SDUSD 2009-2010 School Year: Top Contenders % Student Truancies: Elementary: Carver, 23.67; Knox, 24.46; Riley, 50.00 Middle: Whittier, 40.00; Riley, 62.75; Unified Day, 69.70 High School: Alba, 61.21; Marcy Day, 70.24; Unified Day, 85.71 Current policy requires several mandates and interventions occur prior to a Juvenile Court referral for truants. Potential penalties include jail time and/or fines for parents. Beyond the loss of funds, truancy studies data obtained from The Children's Initiative, a non-profit San Diego County agency, indicate students who chronically miss school are more likely to dropout from high school and as a result, be poorer, unemployed, have substance abuse problems, become teen parents and be involved with the law.

Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

San Diego School District Offers "Whooping Colony" Classroom for Unvaccinated Students

Next Article

San Diego Unified accused of ignoring needs of autistic boy

Mother files lawsuit against school district
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader