There are a lot of kids skipping school in Northeast Wisconsin. You can see them floating around the shopping malls and wandering the streets, pretending like they’re supposed to be in a Gamestop at 930am on a Monday.

And it appears that Appleton is considering taking action by bringing back their truancy ordinance (story HERE).

They should totally do it. Full stop. No notes.

Here is the truth. Kids that aren’t going to school when they should be going to school, have a greater chance of going to jail when they should never be going to jail.

Kids go to school to learn. But we also forget that they go to school to be with other people their age that are there to learn and to eventually go on to live a productive and happy lives.

When kids skip school, they’re spending their time with others who are breaking the rules. And it gets worse. They’re also spending their time with others who are looking to exploit their careless and naive behavior. And sometimes they’re adults.

These obviously aren’t doctors and lawyers. They’re criminals including drug dealers, who would love nothing more than to add your kids to their client roster. You may think that this is some after school special 80s nonsense, but it’s real life.

And because these are kids we’re talking about, it has to be the parents who are asleep at the wheel who are held accountable. I guarantee you, they would rather have a conversation about a truancy ordinance violation than a felony court case or worse, a funeral, to talk about.

The Appleton City Council should approve the reinstatement of a truancy ordinance without hesitation. This is about keeping kids safe.