Public Act 094-1011
 
SB2197 Enrolled LRB094 15606 RLC 51341 b

    AN ACT concerning truant minors.
 
    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
 
    Section 5. The Counties Code is amended by adding Section
5-1078.2 as follows:
 
    (55 ILCS 5/5-1078.2 new)
    Sec. 5-1078.2. Truants. A county board may adopt ordinances
to regulate truants within the unincorporated areas of its
jurisdiction. These ordinances may include a graduated fine
schedule for repeat violations, which may not exceed $100, or
community service, or both, for violators 10 years of age or
older and may provide for enforcement by citation or through
administrative hearings as determined by ordinance. If the
violator is under 10 years of age, the parent or custodian of
the violator is subject to the fine or community service, or
both. As used in this Section, "truants" means persons who are
within the definition of "truant" in Section 26-2a of the
School Code. A home rule unit may not regulate truants in a
manner inconsistent with the provisions of this Section. This
Section is a limitation under subsection (i) of Section 6 of
Article VII of the Illinois Constitution on the concurrent
exercise by home rule units of the powers and functions
exercised by the State.
 
    Section 10. The Illinois Municipal Code is amended by
adding Section 11-5-9 as follows:
 
    (65 ILCS 5/11-5-9 new)
    Sec. 11-5-9. Truants. The corporate authorities of any
municipality may adopt ordinances to regulate truants within
its jurisdiction. These ordinances may include a graduated fine
schedule for repeat violations, which may not exceed $100, or
community service, or both, for violators 10 years of age or
older and may provide for enforcement by citation or through
administrative hearings as determined by ordinance. If the
violator is under 10 years of age, the parent or custodian of
the violator is subject to the fine or community service, or
both. As used in this Section, "truants" means persons who are
within the definition of "truant" in Section 26-2a of the
School Code. A home rule unit may not regulate truants in a
manner inconsistent with the provisions of this Section. This
Section is a limitation under subsection (i) of Section 6 of
Article VII of the Illinois Constitution on the concurrent
exercise by home rule units of the powers and functions
exercised by the State.
 
    Section 11. The School Code is amended by changing Section
34-4.5 as follows:
 
    (105 ILCS 5/34-4.5)
    Sec. 34-4.5. Chronic truants.
    (a) Office of Chronic Truant Adjudication. The board shall
establish and implement an Office of Chronic Truant
Adjudication, which shall be responsible for administratively
adjudicating cases of chronic truancy and imposing appropriate
sanctions. The board shall appoint or employ hearing officers
to perform the adjudicatory functions of that Office.
Principals and other appropriate personnel may refer pupils
suspected of being chronic truants, as defined in Section 26-2a
of this Code, to the Office of Chronic Truant Adjudication.
    (b) Notices. Before any hearing may be held under
subsection (c), the principal of the school attended by the
pupil or the principal's designee shall notify the pupil's
parent or guardian by personal visit, letter, or telephone of
each unexcused absence of the pupil. After giving the parent or
guardian notice of the tenth unexcused absence of the pupil,
the principal or the principal's designee shall send the
pupil's parent or guardian a letter, by certified mail, return
receipt requested, notifying the parent or guardian that he or
she is subjecting himself or herself to a hearing procedure as
provided under subsection (c) and clearly describing any and
all possible penalties that may be imposed as provided for in
subsections (d) and (e) of this Section.
    (c) Hearing. Once a pupil has been referred to the Office
of Chronic Truant Adjudication, a hearing shall be scheduled
before an appointed hearing officer, and the pupil and the
pupil's parents or guardian shall be notified by certified
mail, return receipt requested stating the time, place, and
purpose of the hearing. The hearing officer shall hold a
hearing and render a written decision within 14 days
determining whether the pupil is a chronic truant as defined in
Section 26-2a of this Code and whether the parent or guardian
took reasonable steps to assure the pupil's attendance at
school. The hearing shall be private unless a public hearing is
requested by the pupil's parent or guardian, and the pupil may
be present at the hearing with a representative in addition to
the pupil's parent or guardian. The board shall present
evidence of the pupil's truancy, and the pupil and the parent
or guardian or representative of the pupil may cross examine
witnesses, present witnesses and evidence, and present
defenses to the charges. All testimony at the hearing shall be
taken under oath administered by the hearing officer. The
decision of the hearing officer shall constitute an
"administrative decision" for purposes of judicial review
under the Administrative Review Law.
    (d) Penalties. The hearing officer may require the pupil or
the pupil's parent or guardian or both the pupil and the
pupil's parent or guardian to do any or all of the following:
perform reasonable school or community services for a period
not to exceed 30 days; complete a parenting education program;
obtain counseling or other supportive services; and comply with
an individualized educational plan or service plan as provided
by appropriate school officials. If the parent or guardian of
the chronic truant shows that he or she took reasonable steps
to insure attendance of the pupil at school, he or she shall
not be required to perform services.
    (e) Non-compliance with sanctions. If a pupil determined by
a hearing officer to be a chronic truant or the parent or
guardian of the pupil fails to comply with the sanctions
ordered by the hearing officer under subsection (c) of this
Section, the Office of Chronic Truant Adjudication may refer
the matter to the State's Attorney for prosecution under
Section 3-33.5 3-33 of the Juvenile Court Act of 1987.
    (f) Limitation on applicability. Nothing in this Section
shall be construed to apply to a parent or guardian of a pupil
not required to attend a public school pursuant to Section
26-1.
(Source: P.A. 90-143, eff. 7-23-97; 90-566, eff. 1-2-98.)
 
    Section 15. The Juvenile Court Act of 1987 is amended by
changing Sections 3-1 and 3-15 and by adding Section 3-33.5 as
follows:
 
    (705 ILCS 405/3-1)  (from Ch. 37, par. 803-1)
    Sec. 3-1. Jurisdictional facts. Proceedings may be
instituted under this Article concerning boys and girls who
require authoritative intervention as defined in Section 3-3 or
who are truant minors in need of supervision as defined in
Section 3-33.5 3-33.
(Source: P.A. 85-1235.)
 
    (705 ILCS 405/3-15)  (from Ch. 37, par. 803-15)
    Sec. 3-15. Petition; supplemental petitions. (1) Any adult
person, any agency or association by its representative may
file, or the court on its own motion may direct the filing
through the State's Attorney of a petition in respect to a
minor under this Act. The petition and all subsequent court
documents shall be entitled "In the interest of ...., a minor".
    (2) The petition shall be verified but the statements may
be made upon information and belief. It shall allege that the
minor requires authoritative intervention and set forth (a)
facts sufficient to bring the minor under Section 3-3 or 3-33.5
3-33; (b) the name, age and residence of the minor; (c) the
names and residences of his parents; (d) the name and residence
of his legal guardian or the person or persons having custody
or control of the minor, or of the nearest known relative if no
parent or guardian can be found; and (e) if the minor upon
whose behalf the petition is brought is sheltered in custody,
the date on which shelter care was ordered by the court or the
date set for a shelter care hearing. If any of the facts herein
required are not known by the petitioner, the petition shall so
state.
    (3) The petition must allege that it is in the best
interests of the minor and of the public that he be adjudged a
ward of the court and may pray generally for relief available
under this Act. The petition need not specify any proposed
disposition following adjudication of wardship.
    (4) If appointment of a guardian of the person with power
to consent to adoption of the minor under Section 3-30 is
sought, the petition shall so state.
    (5) At any time before dismissal of the petition or before
final closing and discharge under Section 3-32, one or more
supplemental petitions may be filed in respect to the same
minor.
(Source: P.A. 85-1209; 85-1235; 86-1440.)
 
    (705 ILCS 405/3-33.5 new)
    Sec. 3-33.5. Truant minors in need of supervision.
    (a) Definition. A minor who is reported by the office of
the regional superintendent of schools, or, in cities of over
500,000 inhabitants, by the Office of Chronic Truant
Adjudication, as a chronic truant may be subject to a petition
for adjudication and adjudged a truant minor in need of
supervision, provided that prior to the filing of the petition,
the office of the regional superintendent of schools, the
Office of Chronic Truant Adjudication, or a community truancy
review board certifies that the local school has provided
appropriate truancy intervention services to the truant minor
and his or her family. For purposes of this Section, "truancy
intervention services" means services designed to assist the
minor's return to an educational program, and includes but is
not limited to: assessments, counseling, mental health
services, shelter, optional and alternative education
programs, tutoring, and educational advocacy. If, after review
by the regional office of education, the Office of Chronic
Truant Adjudication, or community truancy review board it is
determined the local school did not provide the appropriate
interventions, then the minor shall be referred to a
comprehensive community based youth service agency for truancy
intervention services. If the comprehensive community based
youth service agency is incapable to provide intervention
services, then this requirement for services is not applicable.
The comprehensive community based youth service agency shall
submit reports to the office of the regional superintendent of
schools, the Office of Chronic Truant Adjudication, or truancy
review board within 20, 40, and 80 school days of the initial
referral or at any other time requested by the office of the
regional superintendent of schools, the Office of Chronic
Truant Adjudication, or truancy review board, which reports
each shall certify the date of the minor's referral and the
extent of the minor's progress and participation in truancy
intervention services provided by the comprehensive community
based youth service agency. In addition, if, after referral by
the office of the regional superintendent of schools, the
Office of Chronic Truant Adjudication, or community truancy
review board, the minor declines or refuses to fully
participate in truancy intervention services provided by the
comprehensive community based youth service agency, then the
agency shall immediately certify such facts to the office of
the regional superintendent of schools, the Office of Chronic
Truant Adjudication, or community truancy review board.
    (a-1) There is a rebuttable presumption that a chronic
truant is a truant minor in need of supervision.
    (a-2) There is a rebuttable presumption that school records
of a minor's attendance at school are authentic.
    (a-3) For purposes of this Section, "chronic truant" means
a minor subject to compulsory school attendance and who is
absent without valid cause from such attendance for 10% or more
of the previous 180 regular attendance days and has the meaning
ascribed to it in Section 26-2a of the School Code.
    (a-4) For purposes of this Section, a "community truancy
review board" is a local community based board comprised of but
not limited to: representatives from local comprehensive
community based youth service agencies, representatives from
court service agencies, representatives from local schools,
representatives from health service agencies, and
representatives from local professional and community
organizations as deemed appropriate by the office of the
regional superintendent of schools, or, in cities of over
500,000 inhabitants, by the Office of Chronic Truant
Adjudication. The regional superintendent of schools, or, in
cities of over 500,000 inhabitants, the Office of Chronic
Truant Adjudication, must approve the establishment and
organization of a community truancy review board and the
regional superintendent of schools or his or her designee, or,
in cities of over 500,000 inhabitants, the general
superintendent of schools or his or her designee, shall chair
the board.
    (a-5) Nothing in this Section shall be construed to create
a private cause of action or right of recovery against a
regional office of education or the Office of Chronic Truant
Adjudication, its superintendent, or its staff with respect to
truancy intervention services where the determination to
provide the services is made in good faith.
    (b) Kinds of dispositional orders. A minor found to be a
truant minor in need of supervision may be:
        (1) committed to the appropriate regional
    superintendent of schools for a student assistance team
    staffing, a service plan, or referral to a comprehensive
    community based youth service agency;
        (2) required to comply with a service plan as
    specifically provided by the appropriate regional
    superintendent of schools;
        (3) ordered to obtain counseling or other supportive
    services;
        (4) subject to a fine in an amount in excess of $5, but
    not exceeding $100, and each day of absence without valid
    cause as defined in Section 26-2a of The School Code is a
    separate offense;
        (5) required to perform some reasonable public service
    work such as, but not limited to, the picking up of litter
    in public parks or along public highways or the maintenance
    of public facilities; or
        (6) subject to having his or her driver's license or
    driving privilege suspended for a period of time as
    determined by the court but only until he or she attains 18
    years of age.
    A dispositional order may include a fine, public service,
or suspension of a driver's license or privilege only if the
court has made an express written finding that a truancy
prevention program has been offered by the school, regional
superintendent of schools, or a comprehensive community based
youth service agency to the truant minor in need of
supervision.
    (c) Orders entered under this Section may be enforced by
contempt proceedings.
 
    (705 ILCS 405/3-33 rep.)
    Section 20. The Juvenile Court Act of 1987 is amended by
repealing Section 3-33.
 
    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
becoming law.