It's a normal Wednesday in Jersey City municipal court as the names of 26 truants are read before Judge Cynthia Jackson. Nearly half the cases are no-shows. “Warrant” is repeated over and over. But once a week, a long line of teens -- each with over a dozen unexcused absences -- are brought before the judge to face fines and explain their reasons for missing class.
There's the 15-year-old girl whose family is from Honduras who hasn't been to school yet this year. And the Pakistani teen who says he falls asleep in class because he's bored and doesn't hear the teacher call roll.
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