Report: Domestic problems, safety concerns lead to truancy

The D.C. Council’s committee on school safety and truancy found in a report released Thursday that domestic problems and safety concerns both during commutes and at school cause truancy. The closing of some area schools has led to longer, more complicated commutes for the 20,000 who use Metro to get to school, Metro Transit Police Chief Michael Taborn said. Students now cross paths with rivals, leading to theft, violence and hostility, so they often choose to skip school rather than deal with the unsafe daily transit.

Schools have staggered their start and end times to combat the problem, but students continue to have problems in commuting safely, if they are able to afford to the commute at all.