Classroom or courtroom -- that's the message that Travis County constables are sending to some parents and students at Johnston High School.
Chief Deputy Willie Madison of the Precinct 1 constable's office said he drives around and looks for kids on the streets.
"Right now I'm looking for addresses," Madison said. "We do have a lot of kids out of school today."
Parents should be advised that if their student does not make it to class, deputies could be knocking at their door. They will be targeting students who have missed 15 days or more.
Precinct 4 constable Marial Canchola said the school will provide the constables with a comprehensive list.
"They are going to give us a list of students every day, and either that night or the next day we will pay a visit to those parents," Canchola said.
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Truancy crackdown
Constables are on the lookout for students with outstanding school absence records.
 
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It's all part of a truancy crackdown for Johnston High School. Officials at the school have already been making phone calls and getting out into the neighborhood to stress the importance of school attendance. Just for reinforcement, they now have the help of law enforcement.
Madison has a strong warning for kids with excessive absences.
"If they don't contact the school and we go there with the warrant issued out of Precinct 1's court, we will arrest them," Madison said.
Constable visits used to happen all the time for students who missed too much school, but funding shortages led to termination of the program.
In December, Travis County commissioners approved $15,000 to bring the program back for Johnston High.
The dropout prevention specialist at Johnston, Ganzalo Robles, said truancy is a huge problem.
"We are in serious crisis with attendance here," Robles said.
Robles said attendance always matters but this year the stakes are higher than ever.
"TAKS is coming up and, you know, there are measures that we have to pass this year," he said. "If they don't come to school, they don't learn."
Johnston faces closure if it does not make the grade on the next round of testing.
Robles said about 150 students are on the list to get a visit from the constable. That's about 22 percent of the student population.
Officials at Johnston said they would rather students learn their lesson in classroom and not the hard way.
