State education officials are looking for ways to battle the state's truancy problem after the latest figures from the Louisiana Department of Education show a staggering number of students are chronically absent from school.
According to that data, four in ten Louisiana students is classified as truant. That's down from 48 percent five years ago.
"It's been historically a problem in Louisiana for sure," Board of Elementary and Secondary Education member Ronnie Morris told WWL's Tommy Tucker. "The real question is: Why, and what can we do with these different state agencies which include the school systems to answer that question? Why aren't the kids in school? Why is truancy such an issue today? And why is school not the best choice for kids?"
Some of the the reasons why it's a problem may surprise you.
"The list is endless," Morris said.
Morris notes some students don't attend school because their parents are not engaged in their children's education.
"School's not a priority in some homes like it should be," Morris said.
Some families, Morris said, can't get their children to schools.
"Transportation is an issue at times," he noted.
Morris also cited bullying problems, saying bullying causes some children to avoid school at all costs.
"Kids don't want to go to school," Morris said. "They don't want to be bullied. You know, do I have the cool clothes on?"
Now, state education superintendent Cade Brumley is working with state agencies and other education stakeholders to find the root causes of truancy and how to eliminate them so more children can attend school on a regular basis.
"He came back with an approach to engage all state agencies that are involved in this process and gather them, and let's see if the left and hand is talking to the right hand, if everybody understands the process, and see if we're working together and see what improvements we can make," Morris said.
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