ACT Truancy Forms
The Adams/Pike Regional Office of Educationís (ROE) truancy team has created an effective intervention program to address new compulsory school attendance laws in Illinois. We call it our ABOLISH CHRONIC TRUANCY program or ìACTî. The ACT Program is designed according to Illinois Public Act 93-0858 in the school code that clearly authorizes our role in abolishing chronic truancy in our schools. The new law provides authority to lawfully notify families of students with truancy issues and to hold legal hearings by the Regional Office of Education regarding the chronic truancy.
Three separate notices from the ROE will be sent to families displaying emerging patterns of truancy. The first notice will inform the families that a truancy problem exists, offer general support to address the attendance problem and give official notice that continual and consistent attendance is expected throughout the remainder of the school year. A second notice will be sent if truancy continues. Specific recommendations to deter truancy are made, parental involvement is strongly suggested and objectives are clearly stated. The third notice is the final appeal to parents, encouraging them to take proactive steps to stop their childís truancy or face certain legal interventions. This is the last chance for the parents to voluntarily correct the truancy situation.
When the three notices and supportive measures prove ineffective in deterring the truancy, a ìNOTICE TO APPEARî summons will be issued to the family. This Regional Office of Education hearing will examine the familyís failed efforts to stop the truancy and discuss further actions to improve attendance. At this hearing, the student can be ìsentencedî to complete community service as a consequence for the chronic truancy. The community service plan could include an ìorderî to accept referral to an agency for assessment and possible counseling or other beneficial services.
Failure to comply with the requirements set forth at the ROE hearing will then result in a petition being filed with the State Attorneyís Office for possible prosecution of the parents and/or for court supervision of the student.