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16 cases referred to truancy committee
Sixteen cases have been referred to the CNMI State Board of Education’s School Attendance Review Committee, or SARC.
Several referral forms are waiting to be signed, according to BOE last week. This would bring the number to “near 20” cases.
In December, Saipan Tribune reported 11 cases referred to SARC. In October, this number was at four, according to PSS counsel.
Cases are described as students who’ve “exhausted” their options when it comes to meeting attendance in school.
In last month’s board meeting, counsel Adam Hardwicke said “they are just scratching the tip of the iceberg on the number of cases and families that need help.”
SARC provides intervention for public school juveniles and their families in problems with truancy, irregular attendance, or insubordinate or disorderly behavior, before referral to the juvenile justice system. The committee is composed of a parent of a school-age child, representatives from PSS, the Coalition of Private Schools, the juvenile probation unit of the Division of Youth Services, the Child Protective Unit of the Division of Youth Services, and the Department of Public Safety.
