West Virginia Supreme Court Justice Robin Jean Davis says she has seen too many dropouts in her courtroom, and she knew other judges were seeing the same thing.
Davis started an initiative in the state to curb truancy, and she joined Circuit Court Judge Alan Moats for an update on their progress to an interim education committee meeting of the West Virginia Legislature Sept. 10.
The judges toured the state gathering anecdotes and information, which has shaped their fight.
"It seems to me at least 90 percent of the children we've had here in court for truancy also had parents who dropped out," Moats said.
He told lawmakers he hears commonly that parents who don't work do not wake up in time to wake up their children for school, and many of them have animosity toward the school system and play the "blame game."
Moats said in Barbour County last year, dropouts were trimmed from 48 to 24, and he called that progress "tremendous."
"It is multi-generational, and it's not changing, and it won't change unless we stand up and say ‘enough is enough,'" Moats said. "This is destroying our state — slowly but surely, but certainly."
Moats told lawmakers the state's drug problem affects more than just the criminal cases in the courtrooms, because it fuels many of the child abuse and neglect cases then flows down to juvenile cases.
Moats said he has seen several drug trends sweep the state since he started back in 1977, from marijuana to cocaine, methamphetamine and now synthetic drugs.
"The school system is a community, and it's a reflection of the larger society," he said. "It is a problem when, as a judge, I have to send a sixth grader to drug rehab.
"Kids who aren't in school are much more likely to be involved in drugs than kids who are in school, and it's the old saying about idle time, and it's true."
Moats said the issue comes down to the question of whose problem the truancy epidemic is, and he answered by saying it's the entire community's problem.
"There is no way you, as a legislator, can legislate our way out of this problem," he said, and said the same about the judicial and executive branches.
Moats said truancy, in addition to its impact on crime, creates a lack of skilled work force.
"Dropouts beget more dropouts who beget more dropouts and the cycle just goes on and on," he said. "We cannot wait to address this problem in middle school or high school. We have to address this in elementary school; the sooner the better."
Moats said reducing the number of truant students in West Virginia will take years, but everyone in the state should at least try to change the situation as much as possible.
All content © Copyright 2000 - 2013 WorldNow and WOWK. All Rights Reserved.
