Noting that a new report cites low reading scores in many Tennessee schools, several local judges said truancy is a significant factor.

General Sessions Court Judge Bob Moon said, "The Southern Regional Education Board issued a very negative report recently indicating that many of Tennessee's schools are operating below standards and that middle school students are unprepared to advance academically."

He said the board stated, "Modest gain in reading and mathematics achievement on state assessments and low academic standards are signs that too many middle grades students are not well-prepared for high school courses."

Judge Moon said, "It appears from the report that little if any progress is being made in reading in Tennessee's middle grades, according to the National Assessment of Educational Progress. Early grades appear to be making the most progress.

"The board report indicates that along with a few other, mostly Southern states, that Tennessee educators have set the reading standards too low. Arkansas, Delaware, Florida, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, North Carolina and Texas are referenced in the report indicating that these states have achieved adequate standards in middle school math. The report also indicated that South Carolina may have set its standards too high."

He said over the past two years, he and several other local judges have brought the truancy issue in Hamilton county into focus.

He said, "Hamilton County has one of the highest truancy rates in Tennessee according to state data required to be collected and recorded annually."

Judge Moon noted that earlier in the year, the County Commission approved a resolution affirming its approval to have parents who fail to comply with compulsory attendance of their children to be compelled to pick up trash.

Judge Moon said, "I was very encouraged by the commissioners' firm stand and approval concerning compulsory attendance and trash pick up for those parents who fail to comply. However, the timing of school officials to focus on truancy at the end of the school year was untimely. The momentum gets lost in the summer months when the kids are not in school. The focus of truancy and comprehensive aggressive policies of enforcement should have been made at the beginning of the school year as well as throughout the year."

Judge David Bales said, "Truancy is a definite contributing factor as a basis for another bleak report about our students and our school's poor academic achievement especially in middle grades."

City Judge Sherry Paty said, "The standards in Hamilton County schools are required to be raised next year. If many of the kids cannot perform adequately with the standards as low as they are now, Hamilton County's report card will undoubtedly be even worse next year."

Judge Moon said, "Too many of our kids are in a critical stage of failure in the classroom and at home. Compelling a parent to get a child to school was unheard of when I grew up. The problem of setting low standards for students is equally applicable to setting low standards for parents. My courtroom and the $33 million paid by Hamilton County taxpayers annually for correction costs is a testament to low standards in in far too many students and parents. The data confirms that there is a direct link between truancy and crime."

The judges, including Red Bank City Judge Johnny Houston, said that they are gearing up to focus on truancy again this year.

Judge Houston said, "Too many parents think that getting their kids in school to prepare them for their future is optional. Parental responsibility to compel class attendance is not optional. It is mandatory. The problem of truancy is not going away until school officials address the issue head on and resolve it. Many school systems in Tennessee and the nation have resolved it with progressive policies and strict enforcement. Our (the judges) continued efforts to stress the importance of education and class attendance will also continue."

Judge Bales said, "The taxpayers are compelled to place a considerable amount of their hard earned money into education in Hamilton County. They deserve a school system that they can be proud of, and the kids have a right to be properly educated in a safe and learning environment."

The judges noted that in Hamilton County no parent has ever been jailed for contributing to the delinquency for the "truancy" of their child. They said Marion County Schools have turned their truancy problem around after jailing some parents.