California truancy bill would crack down on parents of truant schoolchildren
By Katy Murphy, Oakland Tribune
Posted: 08/18/2010 02:19:03 PM PDT
OAKLAND -- The word "truant" might bring to mind a teenager with a spray can. But younger children miss school each year, too, with alarming regularity. If a bill clears the state Legislature this month, parents could face jail time and a hefty fine.
In the Oakland school district, more than 5,000 children in kindergarten through eighth grade -- or 18 percent -- missed at least five full days of school without excused absences this past school year, according to district records. About 2,000 missed 10 days or more. Some of their parents, after repeated warnings, were sent to truancy court in Alameda County and charged with an infraction... Read More
California considers bill to punish parents for children’s truancy
If the bill becomes law, parents of chronically truant elementary school children could face a year in jail or a $2,000 fine.
"These children will invariably be what will end up in our criminal justice system," San Francisco District Attorney Kamala Harris testified... Read More
