(15) Permanency review hearings. Permanency review hearings shall be conducted pursuant to Rule 31 of these rules. Comments & Procedures
Rule 33(a)(1), -(b)(1).
A school attendance officer should not file a report until all attempts have been made to secure enrollment and/or attendance of the truant child. See Miss. Code Ann. §§ 37-13-89(4), -91(7).
Duties of school attendance officers.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-13-89(4) provides:
It shall be the duty of each school attendance officer to:
(a) Cooperate with any public agency to locate and identify all compulsory-school-age children who are not attending school;(b) Cooperate with all courts of competent jurisdiction; (c) Investigate all cases of nonattendance and unlawful absences by compulsory-school-age children not enrolled in a nonpublic school; (d) Provide appropriate counseling to encourage all school-age children to attend school until they have completed high school;(e) Attempt to secure the provision of social or welfare services that may be required to enable any child to attend school;(f) Contact the home or place of residence of a compulsory-school-age child and any other place in which the officer is likely to find any compulsory-school-age child when the child is absent from school during school hours without a valid written excuse from school officials, and when the child is found, the officer shall notify the parents and school officials as to where the child was physically located; (g) Contact promptly the home of each compulsory-school-age child in the school district within the officer's jurisdiction who is not enrolled in school or is not in attendance at public school and is without a valid written excuse from school officials; if no valid reason is found for the nonenrollment or absence from the school, the school attendance officer shall give written notice to the parent, guardian or custodian of the requirement for the child's enrollment or attendance; (h) Collect and maintain information concerning absenteeism, dropouts and other attendance-related problems, as may be required by law or the Office of Compulsory School Attendance Enforcement; and (i) Perform all other duties relating to compulsory school attendance established by the State Department of Education or district school attendance supervisor, or both. Rule 33(a)(6), -(a)(7), -(b)(6), -(b)(7).
Persons who may be appointed by the court to serve summons under these provisions include: a sheriff, deputy sheriff, a municipal law enforcement officer, a constable, a school attendance officer, a school official, a youth court counselor, or any other person deemed appropriate.
Rule 33(a)(8), -(b)(8).
This provision departs from the usual time requirements for conducting an adjudication hearing, but is consistent with the statutory directive requiring that "[t]he youth court shall expedite a hearing to make an appropriate adjudication and a disposition to ensure compliance with the Compulsory School Attendance Law." See Miss. Code Ann. § 37-13-91(7) (2008).