Penalties for Truancy Don’t Work

Here’s a recent article in British News that tells about a study of British School Districts that used truancy notices for parents as well as other punitive measures such as jailing and fining the parents of students who missed school. They have discovered that these measure don’t work! It says that irresponsible parents may not be the main cause of truancy! The report calls for empowering parents rather than punishing them. What a concept…

Study: Parent fines fail to curb truancy
Penalizing parents for student truancy doesn’t work, a study finds. While the report’s author noted short-term improvement in some cases, he said there were no long-term beneficial effects on attendance observed in the 150 British districts that were studied over a three-year period. BBC (4/17)

This one just might work!