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Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) again is partnering with the Philadelphia School District and area law enforcement agencies to keep students off the streets during school hours.

Under a Truancy Intervention Program, SEPTA police officers on patrol at stations and facilities, and Philadelphia Police Department officers on patrol throughout the city keep an eye out for children who should be in school.

Policemen will escort students who don’t have a valid reason for not being in school to a "truancy bus," which transports the children to Philadelphia School District truancy centers set up by the school district in south and west Philadelphia.

This is the seventh year SEPTA has been involved in the program, which runs throughout the school year. During the 2003 school year, police officers escorted 2,700 students to truancy centers. Between Sept. 20 and 23 — the 2004 program’s first four days — officers transported 110 students to truancy centers.