LAS VEGAS, Nev. (FOX5) – Henderson police found an 11-year-old in a large enclosure with metal bars “similar to a jail cell,” after a Clark County School District truancy officer requested assistance.
According to a police report, the truancy officer told the Henderson Police Department that the 11-year-old inside the residence had been missing from school for “over a week.”
Data from CCSD shows this was just one of thousands of home visits truancy officers have made. As of February of 2024, truancy officers had made over 21,000 home visits.
The district has 64 truancy officers as of February. According to district officials, 30 of those are funded by the district and 34 are funded by individual schools.
District officials say, when schools fund their own officers, the district provides the training, uniforms and a badge. They say these officers are supported by the district, but not under the district’s direct supervision.
“Schools can generate their own requests for a home visit,” CCSD’s Assistant Superintendent, Kevin McPartlin, said during a February Board of Trustees meeting, “If a school sees an issue, they can generate it, and we’ll go out and visit.”
During that same meeting, McPartlin said when officers make home visits, they identify the student, and then try to solve the obstacle preventing them from getting to school.
The district has been pushing to increase attendance in schools. In August, they launched their “Every Day Matters” campaign to combat chronic absenteeism.
Chronic absenteeism fell in the district from 36% at the end of last year to 29% at the beginning of this year, according to data from the district.
Chronic absenteeism includes both excused and unexcused absences, district officials say.
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