New Mexico counties are using their court system to crack down on issues of student truancy.School officials say the rate of unexcused absences is getting worse.As a result, parents are being criminally charged for their children who skip school.Valencia County District Attorney Lemuel Martinez recently charged 180 Los Lunas Schools parents with truancy. Seventy of the parents have children in elementary school.The attorney says the parents who were charged have knowingly allowed their children to miss 10 days of schools or more without a valid excuse.“On the first offense, it's most important to make them aware … to increase their level of concern of their child and their education, not to punish them,” Martinez said.The district then sends parents several letters before criminally charging them.“It’s up to a $100 fine, community service and so on for the first offense,” Martinez said. “If we see them again, the penalties rise. On the second offense, it goes up to a petty misdemeanor.”Martinez says the crackdown has worked and their truancy rates are improving.