DENVER — A Denver Public Schools parent is upset about the district's attendance enforcement.
His child has had more than 100 absences in the past three years, and the father claims DPS has done very little to keep his son in the classroom.
Last summer, Denver7 did a story about how DPS planned to handle truancy in the 2022-2023 school year.
The district shared that it utilizes several methods to promote attendance including contacting parents, creating attendance plans, or filing a petition with the court as a last resort.
The father spoke with Denver7 anonymously to protect the identity of his son.
"Right now, it feels like they're kind of pushing him through the system to kind of get him through," he said.
He addressed the importance of attendance with his son, but the teen still remained chronically absent.
The father then took the issue to an administrator at George Washington High School.
He received an email response on May 4 that said in part:
"The courts are far less likely today than before to hold students accountable to attendance. We are not allowed to 'punish' for attendance anymore. The natural consequence of non-attendance is failing his classes and repeating his senior year or attending summer school."
The father worries about more than just his son's grades.
“It becomes a safety issue with an open campus, and basically attendance being optional," he said.
The George Washington High School handbook says the school's goal is to reach a 93% attendance rate.
Last school year, its attendance rate was about 84%.
At Denver Public Schools, habitual truancy is defined as “four unexcused absences in one month and/or 10 unexcused absences in the school year.”
In July, DPS told Denver7 the district's first step is trying to understand why a student is chronically absent from class.
Next, the district says it provides support that could include meetings, counseling, and creating an attendance plan.
Denver Public Schools sent us the following statement:
"Denver Public Schools does refer students to court for truancy, pursuant to state law. State law provides that a school district can initiate court proceedings for truancy 'only as a last resort approach' and only after the school has attempted other interventions out of court, so every instance of truancy is not immediately referred to court, and chronic absenteeism is often addressed without a court case."
In recent years, some districts have changed their approaches to truancy to avoid criminalizing children.
According to the Colorado Judicial Branch Annual Statistical Report, the number of truancy cases filed in Denver Juvenile Court have trended down over the years.
In 2003, there were 762 truancy cases filed. In 2022, there were 352 cases filed.
The father who reached out to us wants to know when the district will consider the "last resort" approach.
"I think going to court probably would have scared him, and he probably would have thought twice about skipping school," he said. "At the end of the day, we're just trying to figure out why we can't get an answer. We want a solution about the policies that are not being followed."
