What you need to know this week, 6 November 2007, Sacramento Bee, Sacramento, California

The council Monday will consider changing the city’s daytime curfew regulations to allow students absent from school without a valid excuse to be cited anywhere they are found.

Folsom Cordova Unified School District officials requested the change to bring Rancho Cordova’s regulations in line with those in the city of Folsom, according to a staff report. Currently, students in Rancho Cordova can be cited for daytime curfew violation only if they are found in public places during school hours.

School Attendance Improvement Handbook, California Department of Education

Citation

As a result of 1995 amendments to the Welfare and Institutions Code, the Education Code, and the Vehicle Code, cities and counties can enact anti-truancy laws and daytime loitering ordinances.

The new curfew law adds Section 625.5 to the Welfare and Institutions Code. It authorizes cities that have enacted an ordinance regarding curfews for minors to collect a fee for the actual costs of detention and transportation. The bill requires a warning citation to be issued that explains the consequences of a second violation.

Vehicle Code

Section 13202.7 of the Vehicle Code states that a pupil who has attended a SARB program, a probation department program, or a truancy mediation and is again truant is subject to suspension or revocation of all his or her driving privileges and must surrender her or his license. If the minor is not yet driving, his or her right to do so may be postponed for one year. For additional time the minor is found to be truant, the court can add another year of waiting time for driving privileges. The suspension shall be in addition to any other penalty imposed on the minor. Other penalties can include a fine of not more than $100, for which the parents or guardian are jointly liable, and/or a summons to attend a court-approved truancy program.

Daytime Curfew

The city of Millbrae has established a daytime curfew similar to those in other cities, including Los Angeles, Fontana, Folsom, Rialto, and Adelanto. The daytime curfew/loitering ordinances allow police to cite truants and refer them to traffic court, where they may also face revocation of driving privileges. In cases of students with excessive citations, parents are fined from $250 to $1,000 and mandated to perform 20 to 120 hours of community service. Due to year-round school scheduling, districts have created identification cards for all students to identify the different track dates.

posted by Valerie

Tags: daytime curfew, Education Code, Folsom Cordova Unified School District, Welfare and Institutions Code

This entry was posted on November 8, 2007 at 2:14 pm and is filed under Curfews, State News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.