APPLETON, WI (WTAQ) – Appleton school officials met on Thursday to discuss a new course of action regarding their widely criticized truancy program.
After complaints that a judge bullied students the truancy court permanently shut down last month.
The Appleton School District also came under fire for possibly referring students to the program without due process.
Appleton resident Ronna Swift says one of her relatives was a victim.
“The only issue was the kid didn’t get to school and it was a combination of medical condition and social anxiety,” she explains.
At the meeting, district members willingly admitted that their program has faults and improvements are needed.
“It’s back in the lap of the school district where we actually address the issues because we weren’t doing a good job previously,” says Alvin Dupree, a school board member.
Others mentioned that the core process needs changing going forward.
“We need to be more consistent across all buildings in terms of process and procedures we go through, prior to referring students to habitual truancy,” says superintendent Judy Baseman.
Beyond addressing the current problem, members of the district committee worked to find a solution for the program.
One idea was the possible addition of specialized staff.
“We realized we need to put in some additional human resource into that process district-wide,” says Baseman.
Those members could focus solely on issues such as attendance and truancy.
Another proposal related to the conception of a truancy task force, which could address various concerns. Representatives in that task force would include parents and community members.
Superintendent Baseman also addressed what happens to current students eligible for the truancy program, since it was suspended for the rest of the year.
“They’ll still be cited, then they will be given a time in court, just wouldn’t happen in a school setting,” explains Baseman.
Concerned community members, such as Ronna Swift, seemed encouraged by the meeting.
“I’m very optimistic that going forward, we’re going to be in a much better place than we were,” she says.
The various recommendations made in Thursday’s meeting will next go to the full board for approval on Monday.
