A "habitual truant" is a minor who has been reported as a truant three or more times in a school year. If a minor is deemed a habitual truant or is habitually disorderly while in school, he/she may be referred to a School Attendance Review Board (SARB). Handling a habitual truant is divided into four chronological stages: pre-SARB intervention, SARB intervention, juvenile court adjudication, and contempt proceedings. Regarding pre-SARB intervention, efforts might include tutoring, parenting classes, parent and pupil counseling, home visits, referrals to community organizations, and parent-teacher conferences. SARB intervention has a variety of options that range from a follow-up home visit to taking the SARB contract to the home to be signed by the family. Some SARBs will opt for citing the parent directly to court once he/she has failed to appear at a scheduled meeting. If the minor or parent fails to follow the directives of the SARB, the Board may request the probation department to file a petition against the minor, or the parent may be cited by law enforcement officials into juvenile court. The district attorney's role in a particular case begins at this point. Truancy petitions follow the format established for delinquency matters. Enforcement of the law through the SARB process has reduced truancy. The statewide dropout rate has steadily fallen: 5.2 percent in 1991-92, 4.4 percent in 1994-95, and 3.9 percent in 1995-96. In San Diego County, SARB intervention solves 60 percent of all truancy problems addressed.