According to Johns Hopkins University, if a ninth grader misses just 18 days of school, their chance of graduating decreases by 80%.

Truancy is a serious issue in Kentucky, and the numbers are going up.

Today, the Juvenile Justice Oversight Council in Frankfort heard from a program in Alabama on how it was able to reduce truancy numbers there.

Our Mackenzie Spink has more on potential solutions for tackling truancy.

That story starts off tonight's legislative update.

Two years ago, the General Assembly passed House Bill 611, which required that students with 15 or more unexcused absences be reported to the county attorney.

From there, the student could receive a diversion agreement, a case plan tailored to the student's needs, or go to court.

School officials say they're starting to see positive change because of the bill.

After year one of House Bill 611.

We certainly saw more kids in the court system, which is never good.

But looking at some of the numbers and some of the DPS that I have spoken with, we're starting to see some of our first encouraging signs, potentially with our statistics.

Although truancy rates went down in some counties statewide, there was an increase of about 600 truancy complaints since last year.

John Tyson leads the Helping Families Initiative, a program that has seen success in reducing truancy rates in Alabama.

The program partners truant families with the DA's office, which creates tailored intervention plans for the family and connects them to community services like counseling and Mobile County.

There was a 50% reduction in truancy over the course of two years, which educational leaders in Alabama attribute to the program.

Helping families initiative is preventive.

It is not punitive.

We actually consider it to be a failure if one of our kids gets involved in the court system.

What we are trying to do is avoid that altogether.

Kentucky already has a similar initiative through the court designated worker program called the Truancy Diversion Program.

It focuses on early support for truant students as well as more intense interventions.

We developed these TTP teams, and it encompasses the Friskies.

Our law enforcement partners that are in the school, mental health providers, both that are school based and those that come into the school to offer services and support, to those students.

There are only 28 active truancy diversion programs in the state.

A council member representing Commissioner of Education, Robbie Fletcher, asked about expanding the service statewide.

Can you say a little bit more about why that would be, that we wouldn't be able to offer this in every county in the state?

Is, is that a funding issue?

Is a resource issue services?

We just don't have the staff support the number of school systems, even in my, rural area.

It would be impossible.

Alabama's Hdf5 program is also not yet statewide, but hopes to expand to that point for Kentucky Edition.

I'm McKenzie Spink.

Thank you.

McKenzie.

Even though truancy complaints increased this year, the Administrative Office of the courts says the numbers are lower than they were pre-pandemic.