Court Establishes a Community Based Truancy Court

October 18, 2007

Orlando - - Students who don’t show up for class at Jones or Evans High School now have to go before a Special Magistrate and explain why they were truant due to a new Community Based Truancy Court established by the Ninth Judicial Circuit Court.

“Truancy at these two schools has been off the charts and something had to be done,” said Chief Judge Belvin Perry, Jr., who is also a graduate of Jones High School, “It’s commonly recognized that where there is a high rate of truancy, there is a corresponding rate of daytime criminal activity and vandalism. This Truancy Court will not only curb criminal activity, but it will put these kids back in the classroom and on the path to a promising future,” he said.

The Ninth Judicial Circuit’s Community Based Truancy Court is a collaborative effort of the Orange County School Board, the Orange County Clerk of Court, the Orange County Sheriff’s Office and the Court. The new program was developed to provide intervention and prevention services to chronically truant students from Jones and Evans High Schools. “This program enhances community safety by addressing the root causes of the truancy,” stated Circuit Judge A. Thomas Mihok who oversees the program.

Hearings are held Thursdays beginning at 4:30 p.m. at the Thomas S. Kirk Juvenile Justice Center. Approximately 25 cases are heard at each proceeding. Normally, the hearings are held before Special Magistrate Norberto Katz. However, on October 18th, Chief Judge Perry will assume that role. “I want to see, first-hand, the issues that these students and their families are having,” stated Judge Perry. “I want kids, parents and the community to understand that courts take truancy very seriously.”

Members of the Media are encouraged to attend on Thursday, October 18th. Contact Karen Levey, Director of Communications and Public Affairs, for additional information.