The following is a news release from the New Mexico Ninth Judicial District Attorney’s Office:
Andrea Reeb, Ninth Judicial District Attorney, announced that on June 14, 2018, Tiffanie D. Romero, age 24, of Clovis, was sentenced and ordered to pay fines of $373.00 after pleading no contest to Failure to Enforce Compulsory School Attendance, a misdemeanor.
Romero, age 24, of Clovis, was arrested in December for allowing her 6 year old daughter to have 15 days of unexcused absences.
Another case for failure to enforce compulsory school attendance is pending against Nadia Martinez, age 39, of Clovis. Martinez is scheduled for a jury trial in District Court on August 22, 2018, before the Honorable Matthew Chandler. Martinez is charged with allowing her 15 year old son to have 21 unexcused absences from school as of September 2017.
Per the NM law, a student with more than 10 unexcused absences in a school year is considered a “habitual truant.” A first time conviction for this criminal offense is not punishable by jail time; however, any second or subsequent offense for Failure to Enforce Compulsory School Attendance is punishable by six months in jail and/or a $500 fine.
Statistics have shown that a huge percentage of crimes committed in the Ninth Judicial District were committed by high school dropouts. Abolish Chronic Truancy is a proactive program created by the Ninth Judicial District Attorney’s Office to combat student dropout rates and increase school attendance. The popular mascot, “Squatch”, visits schools in the district twice a year to promote perfect attendance. Since the program’s inception, attendance has increased significantly.
For further information, please contact the Ninth Judicial District Attorney’s Office at 575-769-2246.
(News release from the New Mexico Ninth Judicial District Attorney’s Office)
