Cases for truancy and school attendance issues dropped by more than 18 percent over the past year, and education officials hope a stronger push for awareness might bring that number down even further next year.

State and local officials are hoping to highlight September as Alabama Attendance Awareness month, to educate parents and students about the importance of consistently attending school.

There were a total of 767 referrals made for truancy problems in 2012-2013, and that number decreased to 630 in 2013-2014 across Cullman County and city. A total of 18 warrants were issued in 2012-2013, and that amount increased slightly to 22 in 2013-2015.

Though warrants showed a slight up-tick, county schools attendance director Jeff Harper noted the large decrease in referrals is a positive sign that more families are taking the issue seriously.

“There’s really a big push now to make an effort early to keep kids in school, and that’s something we’re trying to raise awareness about this month,” Harper said. “We’re really trying to highlight national attendance month for schools.”

Last September, state data shows there were 604,312 recorded absences in Alabama. For the entire 2013-2014 school year, there were more than 7 million absences, equal to more than 49 million hours of missed instructional time.

Harper noted his office works hand-in-hand with local law enforcement and the court system to intervene in cases where students are missing several days that are unexcused absences.

“Everyone is working together to make an impact,” Harper said.

Once a student has five unexcused absences on their record, the attendance office is alerted to the case and joins teachers, principals and counselors in working with parents in an effort to determine the problem and how to hopefully correct it. If no resolution can be reached, a parent can eventually be charged with contributing to the delinquency of a minor.

“Though it can eventually get to that point, 99 percent of the time there’s a positive resolution and we’re able to work out what’s going on,” Harper said. “We try to be proactive and get with families if there is a problem. We’ll do whatever we can.”

Though it might seem obvious, Harper noted cutting down on absences and addressing truancy problems early can be a huge factor in cutting down on the student dropout rate and ensuring students are prepared for college and the workforce.

“We want to get kids in school,” he said. “We can’t teach them if they’re not in school.”