Rising number of Territory parents taken to court over truant kids

The Education Department has begun prosecuting 25 parents for failing to ensure their kids attended school in the past six months — having previously only taken 41 parents to court since it was given the power to do so in 2014

The Education Department has begun prosecuting 25 parents for failing to ensure their kids attended school in the past six months.

The Territory’s most irresponsible parents are facing what appears to be a crackdown for not sending their children to school.

The Education Department has begun prosecuting 25 parents for failing to ensure their kids attended school in the past six months — having previously only taken 41 parents to court since it was given the power to do so in 2014.

Data showing the number of new Education Act prosecutions released to the Sunday Territorian reveals the department has more than tripled the rate of its prosecutions over the past six months.

Data indicated that parents of children in primary school were most likely to be taken to court, with 70 per cent of cases relating to primary aged children. There are still 23 cases before the courts.

An Education Department spokeswoman said there had been some success stories after prosecution, with one student who went from 10 per cent attendance to 78 per cent attendance.

The Department began taking parents to court in August 2014, with 41 cases between then and May this year.

Education Minister Eva Lawler said prosecution was used as a last resort. “We want all children to attend school every day so that they can get a great education, and the majority of families want the same for their children,” she said.

“However, we know that some families in our community need extra support in addressing the barriers they face in accessing education.

“That is why we have attendance officers and other supports services in place to work with families to address those barriers.”

The Department spokeswoman said that in current cases, the parents are from communities throughout the Arnhem, Katherine and Palmerston and Rural regions.

The Education Department has attendance and truancy officers based in regional centres who receive referrals from schools regarding poor attendance and consequently interact with families to attempt to remove identified barriers and re-engage the student in schooling.

“Only as a last resort when there is continued non-attendance of the student, with no reasonable reason, is a case referred for prosecution in court,” the spokeswoman said.

“The Department of Education will continue to work with families to identify barriers for non-attendance and implement strategies for re-engagement.”

Parents and or carers who are taken to court and successfully prosecuted face a maximum penalty of $2310 and a second offence can land them with a $3080 fine.