Curbing truancy

Juvenile Court Judge Herbert Kernaghan must have shocked a lot of parents last November when he sentenced several juveniles to 60 days in the youth detention center for fighting and disrupting schools in Richmond County.

In his court, said the judge, no tolerance for fomenting chaos means just that - no tolerance. His jail terms for boys in their mid-teens were harsher than the punishments meted out to older high schoolers charged in adult court with the same offenses.

Now Judge Kernaghan is back on the no-tolerance warpath again - this time enforcing the state's truancy laws made even tougher last year when the Richmond County Board of Education wisely disallowed all unexcused absences.

Eschewing any kind of nuanced approach to the problem, the judge gives offenders brought to his truancy court a stark choice - go to school or go to jail.

The get-tough policy is good news. The truants quickly change their ways to avoid incarceration. The schools like it too; they are penalized under the federal No Child Left Behind law as "low-performing" if they have high truancy rates - and the truancy rates have dropped sharply under the Kernaghan regime.

It's dismaying, however, that it's not just pupils "playing hookey," it's their parents letting them get away with it and, in some cases, actually encouraging it.

This is further proof that neglectful, self-absorbed, or uncaring parents are often at the root of their school children's behavior and learning problems.

School board member Helen Minchew. who recently sat in on truancy court, says she was appalled at the attitude of some parents who not only refused to work with the schools, but wouldn't even respond to social workers who tried to get in touch with them. Not until their kid was about to be sent to the detention center did they take an interest in improving school attendance.

It's a shame there are irresponsible parents like this, but give Judge Kernaghan credit for finding a way to reach them. We urge him to keep up the good work. School or jail. Don't back down.