Saratoga Springs School Attendance Supervisor David B. Torres said, "There are home visits that my office conducts, there are parent contacts through letters, meetings with administrators and school personnel to regulate the truancy of these kids.

School develops truancy program

It's a problem you can find in just about any school -- truancy. But it's also an issue that's being taken more seriously for students who repeatedly skip school. This is why the Saratoga Springs City School District developed the Student Truancy Prevention Program.

Torres said, "If in fact it gets to a certain amount of days, and in our office it's thirty days, thirty absences, that's when we involve the DA's office."

Which is exactly what happened. Saratoga County District Attorney James Murphy has come on board to address the issue. He says the goal isn't to punish or prosecute anyone, but to help the parents get their kids back in school.

Murphy said, "We're talking about the parents who are not engaging in their child's educational program, who are hitting the snooze button, who are allowing younger students to babysit for siblings, parents who enable their children not to attend school."

Since the program began in Saratoga Springs back in 2001, it's been considered a success, so much in fact, that it now has the potential to go county wide.

Murphy said, "I think that my office can engage all the districts together and I think it can be a great success county wide. I've heard from other district attorneys across the state who are also interested in bringing the program to their counties as well."
Ballston Spa is one of those school districts looking for that extra helping hand.

Ballston Spa High School Assistant Principal Mark R. Stratton said, "I'm very optimistic that Ballston Spa will be signing on with this program and using the district attorney as a liason attempt to improve our attendance rate."