Chapter 9.09
JUVENILE TRUANCY REGULATIONS
Sections:
9.09.010 Purpose and Intent
The City Council finds, determines, and declares that this chapter has been enacted based upon the following facts and purposes:
(A) School absenteeism is a problem that plagues our schools and creates a burden for all communities throughout the city.
(B) Students who are absent from school without valid excuses are denied an education.
(C) The unexcused absence of students from school results in the loss of state and federal funding to the detriment of all students.
(D) Unsupervised students involve themselves in unsafe activities by being in residential neighborhoods, business districts, and malls during the time when they are required to be in school.
(E) Unsupervised students engage in criminal activity to the detriment of the community, such as residential burglaries, auto thefts, bicycle thefts, vandalism, and other visible signs of disorder.
(F) Unsupervised students become a burden on police, who must return them to school, wait for parents to pick them up, and investigate any and all criminal activity related to a student’s absenteeism.
(G) The City of Norco has a compelling interest in protecting the public from juveniles committing crimes, increasing the exercise of parental responsibility for the city’s children, in reducing the opportunities for juvenile crime, and in improving school attendance. The U.S. Department of Education in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Justice prepared a manual to combat truancy, which cited truancy as the most powerful predictor of juvenile delinquent behavior. When school attendance increases, daytime juvenile crime decreases. Conversely, a drop in school attendance correlates to an increase in juvenile crime during school hours.
(H) It is, therefore, the intent of the City Council in enacting this chapter to prohibit any minor under the age of eighteen, who is subject to compulsory education or compulsory continuation education, subject to specific expectations related herein, from being in or upon the public streets, highways, roads, alleys, parks, playgrounds, or other public grounds during the period of the day when the minor is required to be in school, subject to the exceptions and terms of this chapter.
(I) It is further the intent of the City Council to provide appropriate criminal sanctions against any minor who violates this chapter by making a violation of this chapter an infraction.
(J) It is the intent of the City Council to allow minors under the age of 18 to move about freely while participating in legitimate activities, and to pursue legitimate activities during the day with the permission of his or her parent, guardian, or other adult person having the lawful care and custody of the minor. (Ord. 848, 2006)
9.09.020 Definitions
For the purpose of this chapter, the following words shall be defined as follows:
(A) “Emergency” means an unforeseen combination of circumstances or the resulting state that calls for immediate action. The term includes but is not limited to the following: a fire, a natural disaster, an automobile accident, or any situation requiring immediate action to prevent serious bodily injury, hardship, or loss of life.
(B) “Guardian” means (a) a person who, under court order, is the guardian of the person of a minor; or (b) a public or private agency with whom the minor has been placed by court order; or (c) a person at least eighteen years of age exercising care and custody of the minor and having written authorization to do so.
(C) “Minor” means any person under eighteen years of age.
(D) “Parent” means any person who is a natural parent, adopting parent, or stepparent of a minor.
(E) “Public place” means any place to which the public or a substantial group of the public has access, including but not limited to streets, highways, beaches, parks, playgrounds, and common areas of schools, hospitals, apartment houses, office buildings, transport facilities, theaters, game rooms, shops, shopping malls, or any other public place of business.
(F) “Street” means a way or place, of whatever nature, open to the use of the public as a matter of right for the purpose of vehicular travel or, in the case of a sidewalk, for pedestrian travel. The term “street” includes the legal right-of-way, including but not limited to the traffic lanes, curbs, sidewalks, whether paved or unpaved, equestrian trails, and any grass plots or other grounds found within the legal right-of-way of a street. The term “street” applies irrespective of what the legal right-of-way is formally named or called, whether alley, avenue, court, road, or otherwise.
9.09.030 Truancy Restrictions
It is unlawful for any minor under the age of 18 years, who is subject to compulsory education or to compulsory continuation education under state law, alone or in concert with others, to be in or upon the public streets, highways, roads, alleys, parks, playgrounds, parking areas, or other public grounds, public places, buildings, or amusement and eating places, vacant lots, or any place open to the public, during the period of the day when the minor is required to be in school. This provision shall also apply to minors whose enrollment status is that of suspension, expulsion, or transfers in progress.
9.09.040 Exceptions
The minor(s) shall not be held liable under § 9.09.030 if one or more of the following circumstances exist:
(A) The minor is accompanied by his or her parent, legal guardian, or other adult person having the lawful care and custody of the juvenile;
(B) The minor is involved in an emergency;
(C) The minor is going directly to or coming directly from the minor’s place of gainful employment with a valid school work permit;
(D) The minor is going to or from a medical appointment for the minor or for the minor’s parent or guardian, and can show proof of that appointment;
(E) The minor is off campus for lunch and has in his or her possession a valid, school-issued off-campus permit; and has conformed to all the conditions and restrictions of the lunch pass;
(F) The minor is directly going to or from a school sponsored event or activity, such as a sporting event, field trip, or other such official school activity;
(G) The minor is off campus for an official religious, government, or other authorized activity supervised by adults, and has in his or her possession a valid, school-issued off-campus permit; and has conformed to all the conditions and restrictions of the permit;
(H) The minor is emancipated pursuant to law;
(I) The minor is authorized to be absent from his or her schooling pursuant to the provisions of California Education Code Section 48205, or any other applicable state or federal law;
(J) The minor is receiving instruction by a qualified tutor pursuant to California Education Code Section 48224, or is receiving home school instruction pursuant to California Education Code Section 48222; or
(K) The minor is otherwise exempt by law from compulsory education or compulsory continuing education.
9.09.050 Enforcement
Before taking any enforcement action under this chapter, a law enforcement officer shall ask the apparent offender’s age and reason for being in the public place or on the premises of the establishment during curfew or truancy hours. The officer shall not issue a citation or make an arrest under this section unless the officer reasonably believes that an offense has occurred and that no defense exists.
9.09.060 Violation
Each violation of any of the provisions set forth herein shall constitute a separate offense and shall be classified as an infraction. Juveniles shall be dealt with in accordance with laws and procedures applicable to juvenile offenders, and offenses may be heard in any court designated to hear them.
9.09.070 Hearing Requirement
A minor cited for a violation of this chapter must attend a court hearing on the violation, and must be accompanied at the hearing by his or her parent or guardian. If any such parent or guardian fails to attend the hearing with the minor, and unless the interests of justice would otherwise be served, the court shall continue the hearing and shall issue a citation to said parental or custodial person, directing that person to appear at the continued hearing with the minor (pursuant to Welfare and Institutions Code Section 661).