A program that connects parents of truant students with wrap-around services has seen 79 percent of participants improve attendance in one year.

We asked the candidates vying for the At-Large seat on the D.C. Council where they stood on a bill that would increase penalties on parents whose kids are chronically truant. Here’s what they had to say.

Mayor Vince Gray opposes a new bill that would increase penalties on parents whose kids are chronically truant, but a number of legislators seem keen on the idea.

Councilmember David Catania (I-At Large) wants the city to be more forceful in penalizing parents whose kids miss too many days of school.

Photo by FlipMode79. Morning D.C. Now isn’t this weather better than yesterday? The Nats are scheduled to play a double header, a great day for two games. It might be a bit windy today, but this is certainly the kind of weekend spring day we’ve been waiting for. >> An electrical fire started in the Mall at Prince George’s County yesterday, causing it to be evacuated for a short period of time. There was…

D.C. Wire reported late yesterday that the D.C. Public Charter School Board has passed new attendance and truancy policies in the wake of the killings of the daughters of Banita Jacks. The decomposing bodies of the four girls were found dead in their Southeast home after having been absent from school for months. Charter schools will now be required to report attendance statistics on a quarterly basis, and will mark attendance at a threshold rate…