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1999 SESSION

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HB 1817 Truancy and compulsory school attendance; penalty.

Introduced by: Phillip A. Hamilton | all patrons    ...    notes | add to my profiles | history

SUMMARY AS PASSED:

Truancy and compulsory school attendance; penalty. Makes a number of revisions to the truancy and compulsory school attendance statutes. The measure (i) allows intake officers to proceed informally on a complaint alleging a child is in need of services, in need of supervision, or delinquent in certain instances involving violations of certain school attendance requirements; (ii) requires attendance officers, in addition to making a reasonable effort to notify the parent of the pupil’s absence, to obtain an explanation for the absence; (iii) requires principals or their designees, after a pupil has been absent for five days for the school year without indication of the parent’s awareness and support of such absence, to make a reasonable effort to ensure that direct contact is made with the parent by the attendance officer to obtain an explanation and explain to the parent the consequences of continued nonattendance; (iv) requires the attendance officer, the pupil, and the pupil’s parent to jointly develop a plan to resolve the pupil’s nonattendance; (v) requires a conference to be scheduled, after an additional unexcused absence, to resolve issues related to the pupil’s nonattendance; (vi) empowers attendance officers to enforce these new provisions by making a complaint alleging the student is a child in need of supervision or instituting proceedings against the parent relating to violations of the compulsory school attendance law; (vii) directs school principals to report annually the number of pupils by grade level for whom a conference between the pupil, his parent, and school personnel has been scheduled because of no indication that the pupil’s parent is aware of and supports the pupil’s sixth unexplained absence; and (viii) makes initial violations of the various nonattendance trigger days, plan, and conference requirements a Class 3 misdemeanor and subsequent or knowing and willful violations a Class 2 misdemeanor. The punishment for a Class 3 misdemeanor is a fine of not more than $500 and the punishment for a Class 2 misdemeanor is confinement in jail for not more than six months and a fine of not more than $1,000, either or both.

SUMMARY AS PASSED HOUSE:

Truancy and compulsory school attendance; penalty. Makes a number of revisions to the truancy and compulsory school attendance statutes. The measure (i) allows intake officers to proceed informally on a complaint alleging a child is in need of services, in need of supervision, or delinquent in certain instances involving violations of nonattendance requirements; (ii) requires attendance officers, in addition to making a reasonable effort to notify the parent of the pupil’s absence, to obtain an explanation for the absence; (iii) requires principals, after a pupil has been absent for five days for the school year without indication of the parent’s awareness and support of such absence, to ensure that direct contact is made with the parent by the attendance officer to obtain an explanation and explain to the parent the consequences of continued nonattendance; (iv) requires the attendance officer, the pupil, and the pupil’s parent to jointly develop a plan to resolve the pupil’s nonattendance; (v) requires a conference, after an additional unexcused absence, to resolve issues related to the pupil’s nonattendance; (vi) empowers attendance officers to enforce these new provisions by making a complaint or instituting proceedings against the parent; (vii) directs school principals to report annually the number of pupils by grade level who failed to report to school on a regularly scheduled school day and for whom no indication was received by school personnel that the pupil's parent was aware of and supported the pupil’s nonattendance; and (viii) makes initial violations of the various new nonattendance and conference requirements a Class 3 misdemeanor and subsequent or knowing and willful violations a Class 2 misdemeanor.

The bill contains technical amendments.

SUMMARY AS INTRODUCED:

Truancy and compulsory school attendance; penalty. Makes a number of revisions to the truancy and compulsory school attendance statutes. The measure (i) allows intake officers to proceed informally on a complaint alleging a child is in need of services, in need of supervision, or delinquent in certain instances involving violations of nonattendance requirements; (ii) requires attendance officers, in addition to making a reasonable effort to notify the parent of the pupil’s absence, to obtain an explanation for the absence; (iii) requires principals, after a pupil has been absent for five days, to ensure that direct contact is made with the parent by the attendance officer to obtain an explanation and explain to the parent the consequences of continued nonattendance; (iv) requires the attendance officer, the pupil, and the pupil’s parent to jointly develop a plan to resolve the pupil’s nonattendance; (v) requires a conference, after an additional unexcused absence, to resolve issues related to the pupil’s nonattendance; (vi) empowers attendance officers to enforce these new provisions by making a complaint or instituting proceedings against the parent; (vii) directs school principals to report annually the number of pupils by grade level who failed to report to school on a regularly scheduled school day and for whom no indication was received by school personnel that the pupil's parent was aware of and supported the pupil’s nonattendance; (viii) requires school boards to include in their student conduct and attendance policies provisions prohibiting the failure of a pupil solely on the basis of the pupil’s nonattendance without first conducting the conference required by this bill; and (ix) makes initial violations of the various new nonattendance and conference requirements a Class 3 misdemeanor and subsequent or knowing and willful violations a Class 2 misdemeanor.

The bill contains technical amendments.