New truancy laws could mean less fines, jail time for kids, parents

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GUESTS: SENATOR JUDY SCHWANK, LEOLA HARDY, HEDY CHANG
Truancy is a chronic problem in the School District of Philadelphia, throughout Pennsylvania and across the nations’ school districts. In this hour, we look at Pennsylvania’s newly enacted truancy legislation with SENATOR JUDY SCHWANK (D-Berks). LEOLA HARDY, senior attorney at Defender Association of Philadelphia and Juvenile Policy Analyst discusses the legal traps that get children and parents caught up in fines and possible jail time. Children miss school for several reasons; HEDY CHANG, executive director of Attendance Works, talks about why some children are chronically absent and preventative solutions to curb the problem.

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