Watch Them Pull a Rabbit Out of Their Hat

On January 20, 2009, the HEB-ISD announced a decline in unexcused absences from 22,805 to 13,800: a difference of 9,005 fewer unexcused absences then those reported during same time period last year. The district attributed the change in unexcused absences to the juvenile daytime curfew ordinances in place in the cities of Bedford and Euless.

The school district's announcement came just five weeks after a December 16 work session with the Bedford City Council. At that time, the school district reported a decline of 2,600 unexcused absences since September 1, 2008, compared to the previous year. The ordinances in Bedford and Euless didn't get passed in either city until September 23, 2008.

A 40% improvement in just five weeks. Sounds impressive, doesn't it?

I find their figures intriguing as well, and I would be very interested to see the actual data that the district used to compile those figures, as well as the in-depth study that they conducted to specifically determine that the curfew was the reason for the decline in unexcused absences.

One problem I have with the district's figures and explanation of those figures is that school was not in session during two of the five weeks, due to Winter Break and the New Year Holiday which extended from December 22, 2008, through January 2, 2009.

When talking with the news reporter who wrote the article announcing the decline, he stated that the district's numbers were actually calculated through January 13, 2009. This would mean that the improvement happened in a period of just 10 days. For the sake of argument, however, we'll give the district those extra five days.

So, in just 15 school days, the school district reported that 6,405 (9,005 - 2,600) more students attended school during that period compared with the previous year.

Something up their sleeve? Well, the numbers certainly are suspect. And the district does not explain how it derived those figures. Another reason these numbers appear questionable is that all the public school students and parents with whom I, and many others, have spoken have heard nothing at all about the ordinance. I find that very curious, since the district is making claims that the curfew is working as a deterrent to keep kids in school. How can the curfew be working as a deterrent if no one knows the law exists?

Additionally, only two citations have been written since the ordinance went into effect. Only two. One curfew offender was caught in a fight and the other... well, all we know is that he spent 3 days in jail for some reason, and that must have been for something other than a curfew violation since those are considered Class C Misdemeanors and are non-jailable offenses. Seems to me like the criminal statutes already on the books would have sufficed for both of those cases, without the curfew ordinance.

On March 10, 2009, the HEB-ISD was invited to a second work session with the Bedford City Council. When a Bedford council member asked the school district for its truancy numbers, no one from the school district seemed to have those numbers available. The school district representative, an assistant superintendent for the district, stated that she didn't have that data, but indicated that one of the persons scheduled to speak on the council meeting agenda would have those figures.

Come on, now. If you're a school district attempting to prove that you have a truancy problem and trying to plead your case for needing a daytime curfew to handle the purported truancy problem, it seems only reasonable to assume that you're going to get asked the question "What are your truancy numbers?" at least once.

As it turned out, when the school district representative came up to speak as a "persons to be heard" during the council meeting and the council asked for truancy numbers, the speaker stated that he didn't have those numbers available.

What the numbers truly represent is shady at best. If the numbers represent school days and not individual students, then how many actual students are represented by that number? The district has not been forthright in explaining their numbers.

Maybe it's that new math.

It is disturbing that the public servants in our school system, who have the responsibility of educating our youth, can't seem to provide consistent and reliable figures on a matter that they proclaim is of dire importance and urgency.

The school district's desperate attempt to validate the need for the daytime curfew ordinance by directly attributing it to the huge increase in student attendance in such a short time frame is patently absurd. I would expect more from our education professionals.

It sounds like there really is nothing up their sleeve.