In this day and age, no one can hope to be successful without a good education. Whether it is college or technical school, the knowledge one gets from a school is vital.

Yet for all kinds of reasons, there is still, in this country, a problem with truancy.

There are parents or guardians who don’t follow through to make sure students show up to class. There was a time in the not too distance past that truancy would mean a date in court with the stigma that that would bring.

However, Ohio legislators have recently taken a broad step to change that and offer a way for those who fall into truancy a chance to get back into school.

A House bill passed last week has the goal of decriminalizing truancy in the state and it had an almost 100 percent support from the Statehouse.

With this bill, truancy situations wouldn’t be passed onto the courts.

Instead the bill promotes intervention to reach out to the students with special programs to get them back into the classroom.

These intervention programs would be a team effort, calling in teachers and parents to work with the students.

Those who work in Columbus have seen firsthand how important it is to curb truancy.

Franklin County Prosecutor Ron O’ Brien has publicly stated that young people who end up charged with felonies have often had truancy problems.

With this kind of intervention where a young person has a chance to get back on track, it is the only answer to a problem that will save lives later on.