KSAT 12 News covers truancy on the 4 p.m. news, 10-24

KSAT 12 News Reporter Katrina Webber spent the morning covering a truancy docket in Pct. 2 on a story than ran in the 4 p.m. news related to mandatory tutoring in lieu of community service. Parents, students and Judge Steve Walker were featured.

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SAN ANTONIO -- A local Justice of the Peace is taking a new approach when dealing with truant students, ordering them to take part in tutoring rather than in community service.

The change is allowed under a new state law, HB 350, which officially went into effect Sept. 1. However, Judge Stephen Walker, Justice of the Peace, Precinct 2 Place 1, began instituting the change during the summer.

"That's my mission, to get these kids back into school," Walker said, explaining why he is so passionate about exercising the new option.

A former educator, Walker said he believes giving students the boost they may need to succeed in the classroom far outweighs the need for them to do community service.

During weekly "truancy court" sessions in his Guilbeau Road courtroom, Walker sees dozens of students who been ordered to appear before him after skipping school.

"Some kids skip because of domestic violence, homelessness," he reflected. "The smart kids skip because they're just bored."

In the past, community service would be an automatic part of the sentence for most students in this position. Walker said offering tutoring as an option is a "no-brainer."

"By giving them tutoring, you're educating them," he said. "For me its not about punishment. It's to redirect them back to class, back to their studies."

Walker is quick to point out that this is not a way of letting them off the hook after breaking the rules. As part of their sentencing package, they still have to meet other court requirements, such as paying fines, staying out of trouble, obtaining a library card and completing a two page book report.

Most students who are ordered to take part in tutoring request help in math or science, Walker said.

Some of the truants, however, are ordered into it to share what they know. Truants who have an A or B average may be required to tutor other students as a part of their sentences.