By Amy Lewis 

In a recent media release, Crenshaw County District Judge Jon M. Folmar announced a collaborative effort to curb rising truancy rates in partnership with the Crenshaw County Board of Education and Crenshaw Christian Academy. Toward that end, Folmar described the implementation of the Early Warning Court program. 

The initiative, which begins this school year, aims to identify students with truancy issues early and develop individualized plans to address the root causes of absenteeism.

“Statistics show that a ninth grader with five absences is 26% less likely to graduate,” Folmar said. “If you bump it up to 10 absences or more, then it increases even more. As a matter of fact, 10 absences is almost 60% less likely to graduate from high school.”

The Early Warning Court program is modeled after similar successful initiatives and introduces a tiered system of intervention. The goal is to engage students and their families early to prevent the escalation of unexcused absences. 

The program includes three levels of intervention, each progressively more stringent as truancy issues persist.

Level one intervention is triggered when a student accrues five unexcused absences. At this point, the truant student and their parent or guardian are required to meet with school officials and Folmar or a court representative. This meeting, held on school grounds, aims to identify the reasons behind the absences and develop a strategy to prevent further unexcused absences.

If a student reaches seven unexcused absences, level two intervention is enforced. The student and their parent or guardian will be summoned to court, where they will meet with Judge Folmar and school officials. 

During the session, the truancy laws and the legal implications of contributing to the dependency or delinquency of a minor are fully explained. The court will issue a final plan to be followed, emphasizing the serious consequences of continued absenteeism.

The most severe response, level three, occurs upon the tenth unexcused absence. Without good cause shown, court intervention is mandated, which may include the signing of a juvenile petition or issuing a warrant against the responsible parent or guardian. Habitually truant students may face removal from their homes and placement in licensed facilities that can ensure their educational needs are met.

The criminal penalties under Alabama’s truancy laws are significant, including fines up to $100 and up to 90 days in jail. For contributing to the dependency or delinquency of a minor, fines can reach $6,000, with potential jail time of up to 12 months.

Folmar expressed his deep concern about the long-term effects of truancy, both on individuals and society. 

“Over a lifetime, dropouts will earn $400,000 less than high school graduates, and if they go on to college, the gap widens to a million dollars,” Folmar said. “The impact on the U.S. economy is $200 billion per year, with $60 billion in lost tax revenue.”

Folmar said that his office will only see absences reported as unexcused and notes that it is up to the school itself what constitutes as excused.