Truancy Prevention Services

The mission of Roanoke City Public Schools' Truancy Prevention Services is to provide prevention and intervention services that promote daily school attendance for all students. Daily school attendance is vital for academic achievement. Regular school attendance promotes commendable work habits, improved classroom performance, enriched social skills and enhanced scholarship opportunities.

Role of Student Support Specialists

Student Support Specialists provide early intervention and support services to students with excessive school absences and tardiness. Within RCPS, our Intervention Specialists serve as school attendance officers. Intervention Specialists are responsible for implementing activities pertaining to Roanoke City Public School's student attendance policies and procedures and the Code of Virginia, as amended.

Attendance and Truancy Procedures

Student Support Specialists provide a progressive level of interventions to promote daily school attendance. Typical interventions include the following:

• Incentives to promote regular school attendance
• Telephone calls to parents to report student absences and obtain an explanation for student absences
• Letters to parents to report the number of student absences and request parental support for daily school attendance, and to explain to the parent the consequences of continued absences
• Home visits by intervention specialists
• Student and parent conferences at school
• Student Support Team meetings at school with student, parents, teachers, intervention specialist and principal
• Referrals to community agencies for supportive services
• Interdisciplinary Student Support Team meeting with student, parents, teachers, intervention specialist, principal and representatives from Juvenile Court, Department of Social Services and Blue Ridge Behavioral Healthcare
• Referral to Roanoke City Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court for truancy and/or failure to comply with compulsory school attendance.