The Huffington Post – Christina Wilkie
“A decision this week by a major Texas school district to suspend operations at its truancy court was welcomed by juvenile justice advocates, who have long pushed for an end the state’s controversial policy of criminalizing students for having too many unexcused absences…The decision to suspend the truancy court was the result of a confluence of events, including a major report published by Texas Appleseed in March. The report revealed that the state of Texas prosecutes more than twice as many truancy cases annually as all other states combined, and it raised serious questions about whether the children referred to truancy court were being afforded due process.”(more)