 Jean Anderson, superintendent
of the Regional Office of Education, and Ron Denlinger, a
representative of a group of concerned citizens, were also asked to
attend.
According to Denlinger, city ordinance chairman Marty Neitzel
offered prior to the meeting that if they and the Regional Office of
Education were to come to an agreement on an ordinance to fight
truancy, she would be supportive.
The first proposed ordinance that was brought forth in April of
last year drew a large crowd that opposed it. When the committee met
in November, there was a newly written ordinance.
The ordinance still included a daytime curfew for all children
7-17 years of age, but home-schooled children would be exempt. It
notes that there are other state regulations that address
home-school attendance and education.
Parents with home-schooled children were concerned for the burden
that this would place on any children seen out in public during
normal school hours, noting that not all schools have the same days
off, some students have modified school hours, and home-schooled
children might be out to use community services, such as the library
or YMCA.
The purpose of the ordinance is to curb truancy. Everyone agrees
to that need. Denlinger said that their group supports the city of
Lincoln having an ordinance that would do that.
Anderson emphasized, "A lot of our program is positive. There are
many positive interventions." What is needed is a consequence for
the out-of-the-ordinary student who is causing problems.
The ordinance needs to be as broad-based as possible, she said.
What a city ordinance would do would be to allow participation of
law enforcement in some truancy situations.
She gave examples of when it might be useful, such as if there
were a student misbehaving or causing a problem in public when they
should be in school, or if an agitated student left the school and
needed to be brought back in. An officer might be called to assist
and a citation might be issued.
To add more bite, the state allows that the local truancy
ordinance can impose fines or community service penalties on parents
or students.
Ron Denlinger said that their group proposes a minor
change/addition to the ordinance brought forth in November. It is
important to sort out how a truant would be identified, how
enforcement would proceed and who the responsible coordinating
agency would be: individual schools, the school district or the
Regional Office of Education.
Anderson said that the truancy program that is in place now is
handled by her office and not by individual schools or school
districts. Her office documents and provides the needed paper trail
that is required for the state's attorney and judge if there is
judicial intervention. Their office needs to be kept in the loop.
The changes to the proposed ordinance are both are in the area of
enforcement. They are in bold below:
(D) Enforcement
Procedures. A citation for the violation of this section may
be issued by a police officer of the Lincoln Police Department or a
truancy caseworker from Logan/Mason/Menard Regional Office of
Education No. 38 (addition proposed by the ROE) or a truancy
caseworker from the Lincoln Community High School district.
(Proposed by
citizens group) Prior to a citation being issued, the police officer
or truancy caseworker must confirm with the Regional Office of
Education or the administration of the school (in which the student
is enrolled) that the student is or has been absent with valid
cause.
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Anderson said that on the surface this seems reasonable. She would
want to check with her caseworkers first.
In addition, there are many scenarios that she would like an
opportunity to think about and see how the recommendation would work
in them. This would take a little time to work through and then she
would contact the city.
She added that she appreciated the attention that the council has
continued to give this. "I assure you, if enacted, I would use this
sparingly and appropriately at all times. I would sit down with
Chief Erlenbush and hash out the details."
Mayor Beth Davis-Kavelman said that she supports the ordinance
and feels it important to have for the good of the citizens. "The
city has a liability to it protect its children," she said.
The ordinance has been placed on the agenda for the Tuesday
evening meeting. However, no action is expected, as Anderson stated
that the Regional Office of Education would need some time to weigh
it all out first.
[By JAN YOUNGQUIST]
The citizens group had the following statement after the meeting:
"We were pleased with the opportunity given to us to share our
concerns and our ideas for a solution. We want to see this thing
move forward. Our suggestion for getting us off dead center and back
to the focus of going after truants is to clarify the enforcement
procedures. We believe that (as Jean has said) the details of
ordinance procedures need to be worked out at some time anyway.
Obviously the police or truancy caseworkers need a procedure to
determine if a child is or has been truant. We would be most
grateful if enough of that could be worked out in advance so that a
general statement could be included in the ordinance now
-- one that can reassure us that students will not unnecessarily
suffer the loss of civil liberties they now enjoy. Regarding our
proposed, one-sentence addition, I was very glad for Jean's comment
that: 'On the surface it seems reasonable.' We feel we are very
close to a solution that will address everyone's concerns."
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