Published Thursday, September 04, 2008 6:05 AM
Bryan's truancy offenders may get GPS anklets
By MATTHEW WATKINS
matthew.watkins@theeagle.com
By MATTHEW WATKINS
matthew.watkins@theeagle.com
Bryan students who repeatedly skip school could soon be fitted with tracking devices to allow authorities to keep tabs on them.
Brazos County Justice of the Peace Tommy Munoz is negotiating with a private company to purchase 10 Global Positioning System anklets. The equipment would track students and broadcast their whereabouts to law enforcement.
If students with the devices were determined to be skipping school, an officer -- probably from Precinct 2 Constable Donald Lampo's office -- would track them down and return them to school.
Munoz, who handles truancy cases in Bryan, said he hoped to have the program running in the next couple of months. He has met with law enforcement and Bryan school district officials and has their full support, he said.
"I think it is a wonderful idea," Bryan Superintendent Mike Cargill said. "I thought it was just a great program."
Munoz said he had not established guidelines to determine which students would be enrolled in the program, but he said they would be the most frequent offenders in high school and middle schools.
"I am going to have to decide at a certain point how frequently they have missed, whether they are engaged in criminal activity, and decide from that," he said.
Under the current truancy system, students are required to appear in Munoz's court if they have missed three or more days of school in a four-week period or 10 or more days in a six-month period. Failure to attend school is a Class C misdemeanor punishable by a fine of up to $500 a day. The fine can be imposed on students or parents.
Munoz said 1,785 truancy cases from Bryan High passed through his court between January 2007 and July 2008.
"Truancy not only deters students from completing their education, it also acts as a gateway to the commission of illegal activities, such as vandalism, theft or more serious crimes," he said.
College Station school officials said they were unable to provide attendance statistics Wednesday afternoon, but district employees and law enforcement officials said that College Station students skip school at a much lower rate.
Precinct 3 Justice of the Peace George Boyett, who handles College Station's truancy cases, estimated that about 100 such cases pass through his court each year. Both Boyett and school district employees said they had no plans to implement a GPS tracking system.
"I have not asked for it because the school district has not asked for any sort of program," Boyett said. "Our numbers are nowhere near where they are in Bryan."
The cost of the program has not been determined, but Munoz estimates it at around $25,000. The money would come from a judicial fund available to justices of the peace, and the Bryan school district might contribute, officials said.
Munoz said he began thinking about implementing a GPS tracking system in July after reading an article in a professional journal about a similar program in Midland County. The compliance rate for students in the program improved from about 20 percent to 95 percent, he said.
The program would also act as a deterrent for other students who are not enrolled, Munoz said.
Schools in San Antonio and Dallas have begun similar programs, but critics say they may be an invasion of student privacy.
"We're all for keeping kids in school, and we applaud any efforts to make that happen," said Terri Burke, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Texas, in an interview with The Associated Press. "But the privacy issue: What happens with the bracelet or anklet after school is out? Is that appropriate for the school or courts to know where and what this person is doing outside of school?"
The programs elsewhere in the state require students to keep their GPS units on 24 hours a day.
Munoz said that details of the Bryan program were still being worked out but that it would be for the students' own good.
"It is an issue I am becoming more and more concerned about, and my main objective is to make sure these children get an education," he said.
Comments
[comment]
10 comment(s) found!
Posted by:
CountyGuy On:
Saturday, September 06, 2008 8:06 PM
Comment Title: CALLING ALL PARENTS
Technology can be good but nothing will be as effective as parents who care. The simplist way to counter the problem is to hold PARENTS responsible. Once a child has a two unexcused absences, they need to be hauled into court and ordered to see that their child attends school. Failure to comply will result in fines and/or jail time for the parent. Will this completely solve the problem? No, but it will cause a drastic improvement in attendance.
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Posted by:
thing On:
Saturday, September 06, 2008 4:22 PM
Comment Title: truancy
This is a joke. Why are we spending so much money and effort on kids that dont want to be there, when we should be spending on the kids that DO want to be there and learn. No child left behind should target the kids wanting to learn cuz they are getting left behind by focusing on the ones that dont
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Posted by:
Bull On:
Friday, September 05, 2008 11:41 AM
Comment Title: Do it
Just put a microchip in everybody's butt and get it over with.
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Posted by:
Vee On:
Friday, September 05, 2008 10:24 AM
Comment Title: Maybe...
...a small lesson in "with freedom comes responsibility" might not hurt. IF they are willing, they might learn it NOW, and that would be a good thing for all.
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Posted by:
On:
Friday, September 05, 2008 9:29 AM
Comment Title: Whatever works!
If this program can prevent just one young person from dropping out by keeping them in school, I say try it! Truency isn't usually a parent's fault - you can drop them off at the front door, but you can't make them stay. Sometimes the law can intervene in time to set a student on the right path, especially if they have fallen in with bad influences or have given up on school. This program might help some student, who might otherwise not, achieve a diploma. Do whatever works!
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Posted by:
myopinion On:
Friday, September 05, 2008 12:43 AM
Comment Title: Do you really want them in class?
Are you sure having these students in class is a good idea. If they are skipping, it is because they don't want to be there. Any ISD thinking about using these "leashes" is trying to get federal and state money for attendance. Students who skip as much as the students referenced in this article are probably causing enough problems when they are in class to outweigh the funds received when they are in class.
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Posted by:
On:
Thursday, September 04, 2008 11:57 PM
Comment Title: To Facism
The problem is not that we need ditch diggers and trashmen, the problem is all the people who think society owes them a living, free health care, free retirement etc. If we didn't have the welfare state, those able bodied people would be doing the jobs the illegals are doing now, except the income would be taxed and spent in the local economy instead of being wired back to Guatemala, Mexico etc.
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Posted by:
baren On:
Thursday, September 04, 2008 6:56 PM
Comment Title: not sure
i think this only sounds like a good idea. students who are not in school are usually out doing things that they shouldn't be doing. now i don't know what the outcome will be for students that cut classes repeatedly, hopefully it will not be juvenile prison, i hear that texas has a huge problem with sexual abuse of children by adults in their juvenile prison systems. i hope this tagging system will result in a postive outcome for students that are truant. if not then this will just make it worse for kids that are not attending school
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Posted by:
On:
Thursday, September 04, 2008 3:57 PM
Comment Title:
Not sure about the leash law you are referring to, but the age requirement is through age 18. There are numerous exceptions such as home schooling, previous graduation, etc. On a side note, I'd just as soon not spend additional city/county resources. It should be the school districts problem and the tax rate is sufficiently high.
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Posted by:
Former BCS Resident With Family Still In BCS On:
Thursday, September 04, 2008 12:01 PM
Comment Title: Fascism is alive and well?
Correct me if I am wrong, but the 1st and 4th Amendments of the United States Constitution would prohibit the government from forcing any person in the United States from wearing an electronic LEASH, 24 hours a day. Also, correct me if I am wrong, but are you not legally able to drop out at age 16, and truancy laws no longer apply? If all that is so, then this would be a program to bully Freshmen, and some Sophomores into going to class. Isn't that what PARENTS are for? If they skip class and commit a crime, then FINE, arrest them. Otherwise, who are they hurting? Not everyone is college bound, you know? The USA will ALWAYS need people to empty the garbage, sweep the floors, make fast food, etc. etc. Let them drop out, or kick them out -- if their attendance is that bad, and send them into the work force, or to a trade school. Where is the fierce Texas sense of pride and independence and freedom? Children are not animals or property, they are young CITIZENS of this country, who have the same RIGHTS under the Constitution as we all do. It sounds to me like the police department in BCS has some new toys they want to play with, because they are bored. If they actually try to use them, you KNOW the ACLU is going to come into town and sue on the students behalf, and if you have looked at the Constitution lately you also know that they will WIN those lawsuits, which will cost BCS quite a bit in legal fees and punitive damages. Bad idea, let's not do it.
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