District Attorney targets Frayser High School's truancy rate | News

MEMPHIS, TN-

(WMC-TV) - Parents, students and faculty attended an information workshop in the Frayser High School library Wednesday to address the issue of truancy.

School and community leaders said Frayser High School is the most truant school in Memphis.

Teresa Wyche's daughter is a student at Frayser High School.

"I'm here because she's been missing a lot of days out of school and I ended up talking to her yesterday about her tardiness and stuff like that," said Wyche.

District Attorney Amy Weirich said it is her job to enforce the state's truancy laws for students who miss five days of school without an excuse.

"The challenge, however, is to make sure you're doing everything as a parent that you can do," said Weirich.  "If you need police intervention or intervention from our office, that's what we're here for."

Weirich said there can be stiff punishment for parents who allow their children to skip school.

"This whole student review board and review team, all of those things are things that have been crafted in Shelby County to keep us from having to just lock up parents and turn around and not listen to what's going on back at home," said Weirich.

Weirich said it is important for parents to take the necessary action now to keep their children in school before they get in trouble or commit a crime where they may be charged as an adult.

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