School district tries to tackle truancy and tardiness

Students cast their shadows on a wall as they arrive for the first day of school at the new Ross Prairie Elementary School in Marion Oaks, Fla. on Monday, August 11, 2025. [Bruce Ackerman/Ocala Gazette] 2025.

As the school year concluded last year, Marion County school district officials reported attendance averaged at 91.28% — and qualified that attendance rating at the highest it has been in five years.

School board member Nancy Thrower, who regularly attends truancy court, said the district’s stricter enforcement grew out of problems that worsened during the COVID-19 pandemic when some families started to look at going to school as “optional.”

Cases referred to the truancy court over the past five years have steadily climbed.

1. 1. 2021 13 cases
   2. 2022 20 cases
   3. 2023 27 cases
   4. 2024 53 cases
   5. 2025 (January – July) 77 cases

In May, the school district announced that the corrective action provided by the court helped some families overcome the challenge, with 26 truancy cases having been dismissed for improved attendance, and 11 families released from court supervision.

Truancy Court is presided over by Circuit Judge Brad King, who Thrower said has been “amazing.”

“He’s very calm and supportive,” she said. “He celebrates improvement but drops the proverbial gavel when necessary.”

Under Florida law (Section 1003.21, Florida Statutes), all children ages 6 to 16 must attend school regularly unless they formally withdraw at age 16 with parental consent.

The state defines a “habitual truant” as a student with 15 or more unexcused absences in 90 days. Districts are required to track absences, contact parents, and escalate cases when patterns of nonattendance develop.

In May, two Marion County parents were sentenced to jail for failing to comply with court orders requiring them to ensure their children attended school. King sentenced one parent to six months behind bars and another to 90 days.

One case involved a student who had missed 120 days of school in a single year. The other student had been absent 63 days since August 2024. Both parents were ordered back to court for review hearings.

According to district data, seven parents have been jailed this year for disobeying court orders since August 2024.

Three students have also been sentenced to serve time in a Florida Department of Juvenile Justice facility, and seven others were ordered to spend 35 days at the Arnette House youth shelter.

“We don’t want to send people to jail, but we have to do something to help these children,” Thrower said.

Thrower credited some of the success to the work by the district’s dedicated Truancy Court Liaison/Attendance Advocate who works full time to “ensure the voluminous documentation is as user-friendly and streamlined as possible.”

“Schools are seeing that their efforts are equaling results, so they are referring more students who have attendance concerns,” she added.

“Kindergarten has the highest level of truancy,” Thrower noted.

Thrower stressed the importance of early learning, noting that studies show reading proficiency by third grade can be a strong predictor of a child’s future.

“Parents need to prioritize getting their children’s mindset ready for school,” she said. “They are arriving at kindergarten not knowing their legal name, only their nickname, and some aren’t potty trained.”

While unexcused absences remain a central concern, Thrower said tardiness is an increasing issue.

“What we are really trying to combat now is tardiness,” she said. “Families are living on a razor’s edge, so if a student misses a school bus, they are struggling to get their kids to school on time.”

Thrower acknowledged that some families don’t have the support from extended family members who live nearby or neighbors they can trust, so the district is constantly trying to find ways to bridge the divide.

She added that logistical barriers are especially difficult for the district’s more than 1,500 homeless students. Depending on where a child is placed temporarily, their school could be across the county.

“Logistically, it is very difficult, and we’re going to have to start exploring ideas outside the box,” Thrower said. “Could driverless Ubers be used to help some families?”