HB4655 97TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

LRB097 13412 RLC 57929 b

97TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2011 and 2012
HB4655

Introduced 2/1/2012, by Rep. John D. Cavaletto

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:

705 ILCS 405/3-33.5

Amends the Juvenile Court Act of 1987 relating to truant minors in need of supervision. Adds a legislative intent provision. Provides that a minor found to be a truant minor in need of supervision may be ordered to attend school in a non-disruptive manner until the minor's 17th birthday. Provides that upon a finding of contempt against the minor or guardian, the court may sentence the minor or guardian to a period of incarceration in the county jail in the case of a guardian, or in the nearest juvenile detention facility, in the case of a minor; provided that the court shall contemporaneously enter a purge order which provides that the minor or guardian may be released from custody upon verification that the minor is attending school as certified by the Regional Office of Education. Provides that incarceration of a minor pursuant to this provision shall not be designated as a status offense by any juvenile detention facility. Effective immediately.

CORRECTIONAL BUDGET AND IMPACT NOTE ACT MAY APPLY

A BILL FOR

AN ACT concerning minors.

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly:

Section 5. The Juvenile Court Act of 1987 is amended by changing Section 3-33.5 as follows:

(705 ILCS 405/3-33.5)

Sec. 3-33.5. Truant minors in need of supervision.

(a) Legislative Declaration. The General Assembly finds and declares as follows:

(1) The children of this State constitute its most important resource, and in order to enable those children to reach their full potential, the State must provide them the quality public education that the Constitution of the State of Illinois mandates. For those children to reach their full potential, it is essential that they obtain a high school diploma, or in the less favored alternative, its general equivalency.

(2) The State cannot provide its children with the education they deserve and require unless those children attend school. Across the State, judges, prosecutors, and educators have expressed continued frustration that the truancy provisions of the Juvenile Court Act of 1987 lack sufficient force regarding those children who refuse to attend school or those children who do not attend because their guardians refuse to take adequate measures to ensure that their children do attend school.

(a-0.05) (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; or

(7) ordered to attend school in a non-disruptive manner until the minor's 17th birthday.

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. Such proceedings may include a finding of contempt against the minor or guardian if the court finds that the guardian has consented to, or has otherwise assisted, aided, or facilitated, the minor's classification as a chronic truant. Upon a finding of contempt against the minor or guardian, the court may sentence the minor or guardian to a period of incarceration in the county jail in the case of a guardian, or in the nearest juvenile detention facility, in the case of a minor; provided that the court shall contemporaneously enter a purge order which provides that the minor or guardian may be released from custody upon verification that the minor is attending school as certified by the Regional Office of Education. Incarceration of a minor pursuant to this subsection (c) shall not be designated as a status offense by any juvenile detention facility pursuant to subsection (3) of Section 5-401.

(Source: P.A. 94-1011, eff. 7-7-06.)

Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon becoming law.