Prince George’s County truancy work group approves package of interventions, family-engagement recommendations

The Prince George’s County Truancy Study Work Group voted to approve a package of recommendations aimed at reducing chronic absenteeism and strengthening family engagement.

The work group, which met for its final session, approved a slate of proposals that include expanding diversion courts and court-based case management, piloting attendance-success coaches, creating attendance-recovery options (including after-school, weekend and online make-up sessions), transportation assistance for students, and bolstering family-engagement measures such as parent liaisons, multilingual outreach and school-based family resource hubs.

Why it matters: members said the package is intended to create earlier, school-based interventions and clearer community supports so fewer cases need legal escalation. The group’s recommendations will be compiled into a final report to be submitted to the county executive, the County Council and the Prince George’s County school board, and the work group plans to ask the Education Workforce and Development Committee to schedule a hearing on the report.

At the meeting chair Erin, work group chair, described the group’s intent as a long-term effort to “evaluate the things that we’re currently doing, things that we could try to do in the future,…