Chicago Public Schools “truancy officers” used to track down students who didn’t show up to school, and would probe children’s home lives. But the truancy officer title was discontinued in the early 90s, according to WBEZ’s Curious City, which looked into the reasons Chicago no longer employs truancy workers.
while truancy officers have disappeared, about 25 percent of CPS students were chronically truant in 2013, the story shows. But budget cuts and questions about the programs led to the position’s demise, in favor of alternative programs.
WBEZ dives deeper into CPS truancy and how the district is addressing it, sans truancy officers. Read more at WBEZ Curious City.
