Truancy

On today’s episode of The Confluence: Health reporter Sarah Boden explains why some families are suing Gov. Tom Wolf’s administration and UPMC over difficulties in obtaining mask exemptions for children in public schools; more than 4,400 truancy cases were filed in Allegheny County courts in 2020 and the first half of this year, and a PublicSource investigation looks into how these cases impact students; and Prevention Point Pittsburgh’s Alice Bell explains how the state could reduce drug overdoses and infections by legalizing the distribution of clean syringes and other items deemed “drug paraphernalia.”

According to some school administrators, we’re entering truancy season -- the time when schools start taking action on students who have racked up too…

Under the current law, parents of children who are chronically absent from school are subject to fines. If they can’t pay those fines, then they face jail…

The death of a 55-year-old mother of seven has led to the proposal of new legislation in the PA Senate, which would eliminate sending parents of…