The majority of mediation programs in the state are run by the district attorney of the county and implemented and facilitated by the deputy district attorney(s) designated to handle truancy matters. Additionally, some mediation programs are run by individual school districts.
There are almost as many variations of mediation programs as there are counties and school districts participating. Some mediations are held before school attendance review board (SARB) hearings, others are held after SARB, and yet others are held as a “hybrid,” with SARB and mediation combined. All mediation programs, however, have been developed to provide opportunities for students and families to correct habitual truancy patterns through a mediation process.
Mediations are frequently a successful addition to any SARB/truancy program, as authorized pursuant to California Welfare and Institutions Code (WIC) Section 601.3
and California Education Code (EC) Section 48263.5
.
San Diego Truancy Collaboration Team/Mediation
Napa Valley Unified School District Mediation Program
Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Truancy Mediation
Placer County School Attendance Mediation
Los Angeles County Mediation/Abolish Chronic Truancy Program
San Francisco County Mediation Program
Yolo County Mediation Program
San Diego Truancy Collaboration Team/Mediation
Information provided by the San Diego County District Attorney’s Office.
In San Diego, there is only one deputy district attorney handling all truancy matters, including Mediation, and this deputy district attorney is the team leader of the San Diego Truancy Collaboration Team, which includes: district attorney, public defender, Probation, school districts, law enforcement, and community based organizations.
All mediations are post-SARB. It is the position of the district attorney and collaboration members, that all referrals, resources, and interventions should be exhausted by the school sites and districts, before a family is referred to the District Attorney's Office for Mediation, diversion, or prosecution.
Mediations are held in the Law Library at the Regional County Courthouses. This impresses upon participants the seriousness of the situation, as they must enter a courthouse. This is also to change the site from where the SARB was held. Mediations have also been held at police stations, schools, or district sites where transportation is an issue.
All school districts in San Diego County may participate in the mediation program. Students must be six to thirteen years of age. Participating families are chosen by the school district. The only requirement is that the district believes the family is likely to come and participate. Despite this, San Diego County usually will give everyone a chance. San Diego County have taken some very difficult families, where they did come and participate, and had success. The school district (not school site) representative also provides Notice of the Mediation to the family. Telephone follow up is also done the day and night before the mediation; the morning of the mediation, and even at the time of the mediation, if they do not show up. This follow up is mandatory for participation; families have other priorities and issues, and need to be reminded and urged to attend. (San Diego County school districts are very proactive. At least five of our districts have been Model SARB winners, with several winning Model SARB more than once.) Mediations are held on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, ordinarily from 11:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. First mediations take an hour; follow up meetings are usually no more than 20 minutes. Each school district participating in the program has a specific day each month when their mediation is held. (e.g. first Wednesday; second Tuesday, etc.) Approximately five families are seen at each set mediation date.
Participants at the mediation include the deputy district attorney, parent(s), student(s), district representative, and interpreter, if necessary. School site representatives do not participate, as the SARB wants a fresh start, with no "baggage," or perceived bad experiences from the school site, brought into the conversations. The school district rep brings a blank Mediation Agreement Form, and a Truancy Review Form, containing a running account of attendance, grades, and behavior.
At mediation, the deputy district attorney explains who they are, that they work with all school districts and many families and children with truancy issues; that it is a true mediation, to “come to the middle”, and family is not there because they are in trouble, or the SARB thinks they are bad people; that everyone, including the student, will have an opportunity to talk, to please be honest and they will not be in trouble, or make us angry, no matter what they say, as all facts are needed to find a solution. Also explained is that the deputy district attorney may ask questions or make comments while each is talking, and that the end everyone will make up an agreement; also, both the family and the school district will have things in the agreement that they will have to follow through with. When everyone has spoken, the SARB discusses the agreement and write it down. Much credence is given to the parent and the student. District representatives know that they cannot be defensive about this. The process is very friendly, informal, and non-adversarial, and no mention of prosecution of student or parent is mentioned, unless after a series of meetings, there is no progress. The point of this protocol is to empower families as partners in the solution. It works.
Families return for a follow up after 30 days, and thereafter every 30 days, or longer, depending on progress. Even students with perfect attendance at the first review will be asked to return. Any changes in the agreement, or problem areas, are addressed at the review. Families continue in the program until there is a significant track record of improved attendance. San Diego County have discovered that these families need the support, structure, and accountability, which continued follow up mediation meetings provide. Some families ask to continue in the program, even after significant improvement, because they believe it helps them.
Approximately 90 percent of students participating over the past 2 years have had perfect, or near perfect, attendance at the first 30 day follow up mediation meeting.
Napa Valley Unified School District Mediation Program
Information provided by the Napa Valley Unified School District (NVUSD).
The NVUSD deals with elementary, middle, and high schools in their SARB individual and mediation hearings.
Ideally the NVUSD SARB likes to meet individually in hearings with families and students; in order to better understand the unique family dynamics resulting in poor school attendance. They do this each Thursday. SARB hearings include the parents, students, SARB members, school site representatives, community resource agents and the county assistant district attorney. At the end of each meeting all parties sign a SARB contract. Each individual meeting is about 20 minutes. For elementary students, the SARB hearing contract is valid for two years. At the middle and high school levels, the SARB contract is valid until the student is eighteen.
Consequences are reviewed by the SARB board during the SARB hearing which include guidelines expected by the County. Parents and students are told they are all accountable to the SARB contract by the district attorney. Consequences outlined by the district attorney for failing to follow through with the SARB contract include truancy court, diversion programs, fines, or for elementary students, a criminal complaint being filed. Interventions the SARB may institute at the hearing include therapy, treatment programs, parent advocate group referral, probation, and special education. These interventions are included in the contract as needed. All cases are monitored on a weekly basis after a SARB contract has been signed.
At times however when there are many students requiring SARB hearings (such as at the end of the school year), group mediations are organized, the protocols outlined above in the individual SARB hearings are followed in the mediated SARB hearings with up to 30 families in attendance. The same opportunities are given to students and their families, with the outcome of everyone signing the SARB contracts with delineation of interventions included. The district attorney outlines the consequences for failure to comply with the SARB contract, just as in the individual hearings.
High school students who fail to comply with the SARB contracts at either the individual hearings or the mediated hearings are referred to truancy court held at the Napa Courthouse. There, the students are deemed wards of the court and are placed in an eight-week truancy prevention program which takes place at the Napa Police Department. Both parents and students are ordered to attend this program. If the student's attendance has not improved, the student may additionally incur time in juvenile hall. At the completion of the truancy prevention program, the students are referred back to truancy court. If the students have done well, the cases are dismissed; sometimes with rewards given, such as gift cards.
Elementary and middle school parents who fail to comply with the SARB contracts, can incur a criminal complaint. Parents can be placed by the court on a diversion program which may also order parents to attend school with their children.
Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Truancy Mediation
Information provided by the Santa Clara County District Attorney.
In Santa Clara County, each of the 32 school districts having families with habitually truant students are eligible to participate in the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Truancy Mediation Program. The school districts that participate in this mediation program send representatives to a training session conducted by a deputy district attorney to ensure the school districts’ successful participation in the program.
A participating school district will schedule a group meeting of families with habitually truant students. The meeting may have a small number of families or as many as 75 families. The deputy district attorney sends a letter notifying parents that they and their student(s) are requested to attend a one-hour meeting. The meeting is held at the school district office, the police department, or the city hall. Parents sign in at the meeting so that the school will have a record of those who attended.
The deputy district attorney leads a panel consisting of representatives from community-based organizations, the police department, and the juvenile probation department, as well as a school nurse or health clerk. School administrators are present to answer questions and talk with families after the meeting about individual student issues. The deputy district attorney advises parents of their legal obligations under California compulsory education laws and the consequences of failure to comply. Each panel member discusses the services available for families through the organization the member represents. Time is reserved for questions.
After the meeting, school staff determines which families did not attend the meeting. A law enforcement officer goes to the homes of those families and delivers a notice to appear at the school district office for a meeting with school personnel or for a SARB conference if the family has not yet attended one.
Santa Clara County offers district attorney mediation to elementary, middle, and high schools. The goal is to return the student to regular school attendance without resorting to court action. The mediation program serves approximately 4,000 families each year.
Placer County School Attendance Mediation
Information provided by the Placer County Office of Education.
The Placer County Office of Education works collaboratively with Placer County judiciary, the probation department, school resource officers, community organizations, and schools to address the issue of truancy in Placer County high schools. The School Attendance Mediation (SAM) program was implemented in the 2002–03 school year because Placer County court officers wanted to become more involved with Placer County schools.
Judges and commissioners adopt a high school or continuation high school in the county to assist the schools in correcting the behavior of students who have been identified as habitually truant. Students are issued a citation (notice to appear) by the school resource officer to attend a mediation hearing. The SAM mediation team consists of the school administrator, probation officer, school resource officer, and a representative from a community-based agency.
At the mediation, the judge meets all the students and their parents in a large group meeting. The judge explains the role of the courts in school truancies and the consequences for students who continue to be truant. The families then proceed to individual mediation with the SAM team.
At the SAM team meeting, a contract is developed with each student and the student’s family. This contract may include referrals for community resources. Students are then monitored, and a monthly report is developed for student attendance. If students improve their attendance, their achievement is acknowledged, and the contract may be terminated. If the student does not fulfill the contract, a juvenile court petition under WIC Section 601(b)
may be filed; this filing is done through the probation department.
Before the case goes for adjudication, it is assigned to the judge who adopted the high school, and the case is reviewed monthly. In the 2006–07 school year, WIC Section 601(b)
petitions were filed; only four were ultimately adjudicated. Ninety percent of case filings improved, and the students were not placed under court jurisdiction.
The SAM process leads to a more rapid system of consequences for school truancy. Habitually truant students receive services and interventions to assist in school success.
Los Angeles County Mediation/Abolish Chronic Truancy Program
Information provided by the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.
The Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office performs a number of truancy related interventions. The Abolish Chronic Truancy (ACT) Program is a successful truancy intervention program. The program targets parents/guardians of elementary school children and some middle school students who are in danger of becoming habitual or chronic truants due to excessive unexcused absences. The program uses a series of escalating interventions with students and their parents, including mediations.
First, the school identifies children with excessive absences. The district attorney will then contact the parents in writing and invite them to attend a group parent meeting where the legal and long-term consequences of truancy are presented. Following this meeting, if the student continues to be absent without excuse, a district attorney representative, along with a school administrator, will meet personally with the student and the parent to identify and discuss the barriers to school attendance.
The parent meeting and the subsequent personal meeting, if necessary, will frequently reduce the truancy without more recourse. If the student continues to be truant, ACT personnel will attend the SARB to address the truancy. (If the truancy does not ultimately abate, ACT personnel will refer the matter for misdemeanor prosecution of the parent.)
It is a simple, but effective, approach to truancy. Absences are tracked for students who are referred to the program for a period of a year. In the year following the initial parent meeting, truancy is cut in half on average. ACT receives grant funding under Assembly Bill 1913, Statutes of 2000
, and is monitored by the RAND Corporation (RAND) (in conjunction with the Los Angeles County Probation Department). The program has demonstrated a consistent and unwavering high level of effectiveness year after year in studies of the program conducted by RAND. RAND has reported on page 49 of the Los Angeles County Juvenile Justice Crime Prevention Act: Fiscal Year 2011–12 Report
that ACT reduces truancy by eight days in a school. ACT was also mentioned on page 103 in the Office of the Attorney General's In School + On Track
(PDF) 2013 report on truancy.
ACT operates in about 350 schools countywide.
The following are statistics related to our interventions for the 2013–14 school year:
Truancy Mediation
Truancy mediation is available to students and their parents when all the resources offered by the school and the SARB are ineffective in reducing the truancy.
Students who have missed 15 days of school unexcused in the last year and who have gone through SARB may be referred for mediation along with their parents. Students who are younger than thirteen are not required to attend mediation because this office believes that at that young of an age, it is inappropriate to hold the student accountable. However, if the student is thirteen or older, they must attend the mediation with their parent. A "contract" is given to the student and parent that requires an agreement that the attendance will improve immediately. If the student has three more unexcused absences, the SARB or district may refer the matter for filing in juvenile and/or adult court. In the 2013–14 school year Los Angels County mediators heard 384 cases referred from SARBs and filed 86 cases (601 petitions) with the juvenile courts. Both parents and students can be charged in juvenile court under the EC sections. Mediators are dedicated deputy district attorneys. ACT students are not mediated due to the intensive level of services already provided.
Parent Meetings
ACT Parent Meetings are large group meetings that are conducted by District Attorney personnel. Parents and students are invited when the truancy level reaches from 12 to 15 days of unexcused absences. The District Attorney’s Office sends a letter on their letterhead inviting parents to the meeting. This is an easy way to reach many parents and students by simply informing them in an informal group setting that their child is missing too much school and that there are legal consequences to truancy. The Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office contacted 3,434 students and families during the 2013–14 school year. Only 1,327 of them went on to the SARB level.
San Francisco County Mediation Program
Information provided by the San Francisco County District Attorney’s Office.
Mediations are scheduled based on the school’s request and are usually done at the school sites. If mediation is post-SARB (WIC Section 601.3
), the mediation is held at the District Attorney’s Office, to lend a bit more formality to the mediation.
For pre-SARB mediations, the schools usually ask the deputy district attorney’s availability and then send letters out and/or call families who have at least two truancy letters sent out to them. The deputy district attorney meets with families as a group, and explains the consequences of truancy, why the district attorney prosecutes these cases, not to punish them, but to get students back in school, and why it is important for students to be in school, and answer questions from the group.
During one-on-one mediations, the deputy district attorney goes into more detail with the family, regarding reasons for the absences.
In all mediations, the principal of the school, or the attendance liaison from the school, is present, as are a few teachers, the parent(s), student(s), a deputy district attorney, and a school district representative.
When a more formal mediation is scheduled, the district attorney sends out a letter on the district attorney stationary, requesting the family’s presence at the mediation located at the District Attorney’s Office.
Yolo County Mediation Program
Information provided by the Yolo County District Attorney’s Office.
Yolo County does a variety of things, depending on an individual school/school district‘s current staffing issues. Yolo County does group mediations, where the district attorney invites students and their parents to meet in a large group. The numbers were as high as 16 students at a time.
Yolo County has a panel of individuals who talk about services, the law, and the consequences to students and the community, when minors do not attend school. When the panel is finished talking to the group, the panel tries to talk to each family individually, to find out what is preventing the students from going to school. The panel gets families connected with services and resources.
When students and families do not show up for the district attorney mediation, the deputy district attorney, and members of the panel, go out to their houses to attempt contact, to either set up a meeting for the families, or get them set up with services.
If school districts are having difficulty getting district attorney mediations organized, then a one-on-one meeting with the family is set up at the District Attorney’s Office, or at a school site.
Overall, Yolo County school districts are very active in dealing with truancy and dedicated to the process. All school districts in Yolo County participate in truancy mediation and/or individual meetings.