SECTION:
10-3A-2: - TRUANCY PROHIBITED:
10-3A-3: - PARENTAL RESPONSIBILITY:
10-3A-4: - ENFORCEMENT PROCEDURES:
10-3A-5: - REMEDIES AND PENALTIES:
As used in this Chapter the following terms shall be defined as follows:
| PARENT: | Any person having legal custody of a person or a student who is: 1) a natural or adoptive parent; 2) a legal guardian; 3) a person who stands in loco parentis; or 4) a person to whom legal custody has been given by court order. |
| PARENTAL PERMISSION: | Permission given to a student to absent himself or herself from school or from one or more school classes or from a school day. |
| STUDENT: | Any person enrolled in grades one through twelve (12) of a public, private, or parochial school within the corporate limits of the City of Naperville. Students who are instructed in a home school program are not subject to the provisions of this Chapter. |
| TRUANT: | A student who absents himself or herself from attendance during all, or part of, a school day during a time when school is in session without parental permission or "valid cause" as defined in this Section. |
| VALID CAUSE: | Illness, observance of a religious holiday, death in the immediate family, family emergency, and other situations beyond the control of the student as determined by the principal or the principal's designee of the school which that student attends. (Ord. 01-139, 7-17-2001) |
10-3A-2: - TRUANCY PROHIBITED:
1.
It shall be unlawful for any student to absent himself or herself from attendance during all, or part of, a school day during a time when school is in session without parental permission or valid cause.
2.
Each day, or period, that a student absents himself or herself from attendance in school or a school class during a time when school is in session without parental permission or valid cause shall constitute a separate offense and shall be punishable as such.
(Ord. 01-139, 7-17-2001)
10-3A-3: - PARENTAL RESPONSIBILITY [103]:
1.
It shall be unlawful for a parent to knowingly or negligently permit or cause a student who is under the age of eighteen (18) years old to be truant.
2.
A parent shall be considered to have knowingly or negligently permitted a student to be truant if the parent has actual knowledge or reasonable cause to know that the student has absented himself or herself from attendance during all, or part of, a school day during a time when school is in session, and the parent fails to act to ensure that the student attends the school and classes in which he or she is enrolled.
3.
It shall be an offense under this Chapter for a parent to knowingly submit to school authorities a written excuse which explains the absence from school attendance of the student in his or her care or control that contains false information.
4.
Each day, or period, that a student is absent from attendance in school and/or a school class during a time when school is in session when the parent(s) knowingly permitted or caused that person to be "truant", as defined in Section 10-3A-2 of this Chapter, shall constitute a separate offense and shall be punishable as such.
(Ord. 01-139, 7-17-2001)
10-3A-4: - ENFORCEMENT PROCEDURES:
1.
A student who has committed the offense of truancy and his or her parent(s) shall be sent separate written notices by a member of the staff of the school from which the student was truant containing a summary of the violation(s) and a warning that any subsequent violation may result in the full enforcement of the provisions of this Chapter.
2.
If, after the notification given above, the student is truant again, a truancy complaint may be filed, signed by a member of the staff of the school from which the student was truant or by a police officer, naming the student as the defendant therein, and setting forth the name and address of the truant student, the names and addresses of the parents or persons having custody or control of the student, the age of the student at the time of the alleged truancy, the grade level at which the student is enrolled, and the date(s) or time(s) of the alleged truant behavior.
3.
If, after the notification given above, a student who is under eighteen (18) years of age is truant again, a truancy complaint may also be filed against one or more of the parents of the truant student, signed by a member of the staff of the school from which the student was truant or by a police officer. A truancy complaint against a parent shall contain the name and address of the truant student, the names and addresses of the parent(s) having custody or control of the student, the age of the student at the time of the alleged truancy, the grade level at which the student is enrolled, the date(s) or time(s) of the alleged truant behavior, and an allegation that the parent(s) knowingly or negligently caused or permitted the truancy alleged.
4.
If, after the notification given above, a student who is under eighteen (18) years of age is truant again under the same or similar circumstances, a rebuttable presumption shall arise that the parent(s) knowingly or negligently permitted or caused such truancy.
(Ord. 01-139, 7-17-2001)
10-3A-5: - REMEDIES AND PENALTIES:
1.
Injunctive Relief: Upon a finding by a court that a student is "truant" as defined herein, the relief sought shall be a court order that unless valid cause exists, the student shall attend school in the school in which he or she is enrolled during all times when school is in session, including all class periods. In addition, penalties may be assessed against the student as set forth herein. If a truancy complaint also names one or more parents of the student as defendants, upon a finding by the court that the parent(s) knowingly or negligently permitted or caused a "student" as defined herein to be truant, said parent(s) shall be ordered to take all steps possible to ensure that the student is not truant in the future. In addition, penalties may be assessed against the parent(s) as set forth herein.
2.
Penalties:
2.1.
Parental Responsibility: If, after the notice given pursuant to Subsection 10-3A-4.1 of this Chapter of a violation by a truant student, a parent violates Section 10-3A-3 of this Chapter in connection with a subsequent violation by the student, this shall be treated as a first offense of the parent. For the first offense by a parent, the fine shall be not less than one hundred dollars ($100.00) and not more than two hundred dollars ($200.00) plus costs. For each subsequent offense by a parent, the fine shall be not less than two hundred dollars ($200.00) and not more than five hundred dollars ($500.00) plus costs.
2.2.
Student Responsibility: If, after the notice given pursuant to Subsection 10-3A-4.1 of this Chapter of a violation by a student, a subsequent violation by that student shall be punishable by a fine of not less than fifty dollars ($50.00) and not more than one hundred dollars ($100.00) plus costs. For each subsequent offense by a student, the fine shall be not less than one hundred dollars ($100.00) and not more than three hundred dollars ($300.00) plus costs.
3.
Contempt Of Court: Failure to comply with lawful orders of the court may subject a defendant to contempt of court, punishable by incarceration and/or additional fines, at the discretion of the court.
4.
Support Or Counseling Services: A truancy complaint shall not be filed against any student or parent as provided for in this Chapter unless the school from which the student is truant has offered the student support or counseling services which address the issue of truancy as determined to be appropriate by the school district.
(Ord. 01-139, 7-17-2001)
FOOTNOTE(S):
(103)  See also Section 10-2-10 of this Title. (Back)