Cutting class will be costly in Hayward
By Eric Kurhi
The Oakland Tribune
Posted: 01/09/2010 06:27:53 PM PST
Updated: 01/09/2010 06:27:53 PM PST
HAYWARD — Hooky soon will be a game of high stakes, as the city has made truancy an offense punishable by a fine of up to $500, levied on the guardians of the class-cutter.
But police Sgt. Jeff Snell, who presented a report on the matter to the City Council last week before the board unanimously approved it, stressed that the fines are a tool of last resort.
"We're talking about parents who fail to share in the responsibility of their child attending school," he said.
"If a parent drops a child off, and the kid says, 'I'm out of here' and hops a fence and gets caught, (the fine) would not apply."
Snell said that police prefer to guide families to counseling services that may aid in a chronic truancy problem. But if parents are not receptive to such measures, or deny they have responsibility for what their child does during the school day, they could be fined $100 for the first time their child is caught skipping class, $200 the second and $500 for each additional offense.
Police previously could cite truant kids through the courts, but it creates such a backlog that it is seldom used. The modified ordinance will allow the city to issue the citations.
Snell — who is head of the police department's school resource officers — said it's an important tool because, without it, the greatest punishment that can bestowed on a student unwilling to attend class is expulsion.
He said school officers handle
truancy cases 98 percent of the time, and those officers are the ones familiar with the student body, and can better judge what's going on.
"It will be a common-sense application," he said. "The officer would have to back up the reasoning behind any administrative fine."
There will be a second reading of the ordinance at the Jan. 19 council meeting, and, if approved, the law would go into effect 30 days after that.
By Eric Kurhi
The Oakland Tribune
Posted: 01/09/2010 06:27:53 PM PST
Updated: 01/09/2010 06:27:53 PM PST
HAYWARD — Hooky soon will be a game of high stakes, as the city has made truancy an offense punishable by a fine of up to $500, levied on the guardians of the class-cutter.
But police Sgt. Jeff Snell, who presented a report on the matter to the City Council last week before the board unanimously approved it, stressed that the fines are a tool of last resort.
"We're talking about parents who fail to share in the responsibility of their child attending school," he said.
"If a parent drops a child off, and the kid says, 'I'm out of here' and hops a fence and gets caught, (the fine) would not apply."
Snell said that police prefer to guide families to counseling services that may aid in a chronic truancy problem. But if parents are not receptive to such measures, or deny they have responsibility for what their child does during the school day, they could be fined $100 for the first time their child is caught skipping class, $200 the second and $500 for each additional offense.
Police previously could cite truant kids through the courts, but it creates such a backlog that it is seldom used. The modified ordinance will allow the city to issue the citations.
Snell — who is head of the police department's school resource officers — said it's an important tool because, without it, the greatest punishment that can bestowed on a student unwilling to attend class is expulsion.
He said school officers handle
truancy cases 98 percent of the time, and those officers are the ones familiar with the student body, and can better judge what's going on.
"It will be a common-sense application," he said. "The officer would have to back up the reasoning behind any administrative fine."
There will be a second reading of the ordinance at the Jan. 19 council meeting, and, if approved, the law would go into effect 30 days after that.
