Students attending schools in the Bryan Independent School District may want to think twice about skipping school. District officials are cracking down on truancy and a GPS device is paving the way.

If you ask Justice of the Peace Tommy Munoz, accountability and responsibility are just two key ingredients that make up a successful student.

Do your homework, do what you need to do,” said Munoz. “I tell them this exact thing while they’re in court; the schools have rules and if you break the rules you come to court. Adults? What do we have? If we break the law we go to jail.”

That's exactly where three students from Bryan ISD ended up Tuesday afternoon after skipping school one too many times -- including this Bryan High School Junior.

"The reason why I haven’t' gone to school is because I was babysitting or trying to find a job,” explained Rozaline Burns. “I didn’t realize they counted for each class absence. I thought it was counted for each day you missed.”

Her mother Barbara says she was shocked when she found out her daughter was skipping school.

"When I got the letter in the mail…that’s what got me,” explained Barbara Burns. “I blew up real bad; I'm not going to tell stories! It was a shock, especially from Rozaline – we don’t do that.”

According to the Texas Education Agency, the school district files a complaint in justice or Municipal court if the student "fails to attend school without excuse." Truancy laws in Texas state that a student becomes truant with three or more unexcused absences in a four week period or 10 or more unexcused absences in a six-month period.

Truancy is something Munoz doesn’t tolerate in his courtroom.

“In life, all I want is for them to become good, productive citizens and they have to learn at a young age,” said Munoz.

In an effort to combat the problem, Judge Munoz intends on using a GPS tracking device to make sure the students are in school when they should be.

"We can text the device, we can call the device and the student can call and text us as well," said Knox. "It also has GPS in it just like our phones do. And this is really an important tool and a small tool," said Travis Knox, President of Aim Truancy.

Knox says the students are temporarily given the device that requires them to check in during preset intervals throughout the day; incluidng, when they leave for school in the morning, when they arrive at school, lunchtime and when they leave school. An adult coach and mentor also calls regularly to check up on the student to discuss their progress.

"The reason that makes this program so successful and sustainable is really the coach and mentor that is on the other end of the line that is working with these kids," added Knox. "It's all about support and communication."

“I was shocked when they told me, I thought I was going to have to wear an ankle monitor, but this is good,” said Rozaline. “I’m not used to being on probation; I don’t ever want to do this again, especially after watching that video with kids going to jail.”

Burns is just one of hundreds of students using the tracking device across Texas. Munoz says 25 students at Bryan ISD are currently using this device.

"A lot of these kids don't have parents to come home to and talk to, they don't have support at home," added Munoz. "This is the very reason they sometimes turn to gangs because they end up giving them the attention, so we want our students to graduate and get those diplomas and make something for themselves."

"I'm just thankful my mom is here to support me," added Rozaline.

"She is four of five kids, and I hope this teaches her a lesson; she's a good kid and she knows we don't tolerate this in our house," said Barbara Burns.

Despite the tough economic times, Knox says the device ultimately pays for itself.

“We are performance based, so what were able to show the district's is the attendance based revenue, were able to show by increasing the attendance, these students are more than paying for themselves to be in our program,” explained Knox. “If kids come to school, we share in that revenue, if they're not coming to school, it's not an expense.”

Bryan ISD has been using the program since 2007 and since its inception; the district has seen a 24 percent decrease in truancy. It's an effort that Munoz says is proving to be a success and hopes these students will keep their head in the books and out of his courtroom.