How deputies are cracking down on Arizona students ditching school
PHOENIX (AZFamily) — Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne announced on Wednesday a new push to work with local law enforcement to keep kids in school. This comes after absence rates across Arizona schools have increased to levels teachers say is a big problem. “I feel like our society has gotten away from consequences and I’m pushing to bring discipline back to our schools for students to learn properly,” Horne said.
According to the Arizona Department of Education, close to 30% of students miss 18 or more days. That means they are not in class more than 10% of the time. “The problem has gotten so out of hand that really it is a crisis for the future of these kids,” said Maricopa County Sheriff Jerry Sheridan.
Sheriff Sheridan expressed his approval of joining forces with Horne and said his department will start cracking down on truancy and chronic absenteeism. “People need to be held responsible for their actions or inactions, in this case,” Sheridan said.
Under Arizona law, it is a class 3 misdemeanor if parents let their kids skip class. Horne is encouraging law enforcement agencies to hold parents accountable and possibly cite them for this.
Dysart Unified School District Assistant Superintendent Craig Mussi also expressed his approval of getting law enforcement involved. Mussi said the district is already cracking down on absenteeism by removing class credits for students if they have over nine unexcused absences. “The No. 1 success for our students is that they need to be in class every day. Consistent attendance is going to be the key to what their academic achievement is going to look like and how they’re going to grow,” Mussi said.
While Horne said this does serve as a warning to parents, local enforcement and school districts will work with parents and students if they need help, as well as come up with a solution and plan to get students to class.
See a spelling or grammatical error in our story? Please click here to report it.
Do you have a photo or video of a breaking news story? Send it to us here with a brief description.
Copyright 2025 KTVK/KPHO. All rights reserved.
