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.


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CORRECTIONAL BUDGET AND IMPACT NOTE ACT MAY APPLY

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

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1    AN ACT concerning minors.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 5. The Juvenile Court Act of 1987 is amended by
5changing Section 3-33.5 as follows:
 
6    (705 ILCS 405/3-33.5)
7    Sec. 3-33.5. Truant minors in need of supervision.
8    (a) Legislative Declaration. The General Assembly finds
9and declares as follows:
10        (1) The children of this State constitute its most
11    important resource, and in order to enable those children
12    to reach their full potential, the State must provide them
13    the quality public education that the Constitution of the
14    State of Illinois mandates. For those children to reach
15    their full potential, it is essential that they obtain a
16    high school diploma, or in the less favored alternative,
17    its general equivalency.
18        (2) The State cannot provide its children with the
19    education they deserve and require unless those children
20    attend school. Across the State, judges, prosecutors, and
21    educators have expressed continued frustration that the
22    truancy provisions of the Juvenile Court Act of 1987 lack
23    sufficient force regarding those children who refuse to

 

 

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1    attend school or those children who do not attend because
2    their guardians refuse to take adequate measures to ensure
3    that their children do attend school.
4    (a-0.05) (a) Definition. A minor who is reported by the
5office of the regional superintendent of schools, or, in cities
6of over 500,000 inhabitants, by the Office of Chronic Truant
7Adjudication, as a chronic truant may be subject to a petition
8for adjudication and adjudged a truant minor in need of
9supervision, provided that prior to the filing of the petition,
10the office of the regional superintendent of schools, the
11Office of Chronic Truant Adjudication, or a community truancy
12review board certifies that the local school has provided
13appropriate truancy intervention services to the truant minor
14and his or her family. For purposes of this Section, "truancy
15intervention services" means services designed to assist the
16minor's return to an educational program, and includes but is
17not limited to: assessments, counseling, mental health
18services, shelter, optional and alternative education
19programs, tutoring, and educational advocacy. If, after review
20by the regional office of education, the Office of Chronic
21Truant Adjudication, or community truancy review board it is
22determined the local school did not provide the appropriate
23interventions, then the minor shall be referred to a
24comprehensive community based youth service agency for truancy
25intervention services. If the comprehensive community based
26youth service agency is incapable to provide intervention

 

 

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1services, then this requirement for services is not applicable.
2The comprehensive community based youth service agency shall
3submit reports to the office of the regional superintendent of
4schools, the Office of Chronic Truant Adjudication, or truancy
5review board within 20, 40, and 80 school days of the initial
6referral or at any other time requested by the office of the
7regional superintendent of schools, the Office of Chronic
8Truant Adjudication, or truancy review board, which reports
9each shall certify the date of the minor's referral and the
10extent of the minor's progress and participation in truancy
11intervention services provided by the comprehensive community
12based youth service agency. In addition, if, after referral by
13the office of the regional superintendent of schools, the
14Office of Chronic Truant Adjudication, or community truancy
15review board, the minor declines or refuses to fully
16participate in truancy intervention services provided by the
17comprehensive community based youth service agency, then the
18agency shall immediately certify such facts to the office of
19the regional superintendent of schools, the Office of Chronic
20Truant Adjudication, or community truancy review board.
21    (a-1) There is a rebuttable presumption that a chronic
22truant is a truant minor in need of supervision.
23    (a-2) There is a rebuttable presumption that school records
24of a minor's attendance at school are authentic.
25    (a-3) For purposes of this Section, "chronic truant" means
26a minor subject to compulsory school attendance and who is

 

 

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1absent without valid cause from such attendance for 10% or more
2of the previous 180 regular attendance days and has the meaning
3ascribed to it in Section 26-2a of the School Code.
4    (a-4) For purposes of this Section, a "community truancy
5review board" is a local community based board comprised of but
6not limited to: representatives from local comprehensive
7community based youth service agencies, representatives from
8court service agencies, representatives from local schools,
9representatives from health service agencies, and
10representatives from local professional and community
11organizations as deemed appropriate by the office of the
12regional superintendent of schools, or, in cities of over
13500,000 inhabitants, by the Office of Chronic Truant
14Adjudication. The regional superintendent of schools, or, in
15cities of over 500,000 inhabitants, the Office of Chronic
16Truant Adjudication, must approve the establishment and
17organization of a community truancy review board and the
18regional superintendent of schools or his or her designee, or,
19in cities of over 500,000 inhabitants, the general
20superintendent of schools or his or her designee, shall chair
21the board.
22    (a-5) Nothing in this Section shall be construed to create
23a private cause of action or right of recovery against a
24regional office of education or the Office of Chronic Truant
25Adjudication, its superintendent, or its staff with respect to
26truancy intervention services where the determination to

 

 

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1provide the services is made in good faith.
2    (b) Kinds of dispositional orders. A minor found to be a
3truant minor in need of supervision may be:
4        (1) committed to the appropriate regional
5    superintendent of schools for a student assistance team
6    staffing, a service plan, or referral to a comprehensive
7    community based youth service agency;
8        (2) required to comply with a service plan as
9    specifically provided by the appropriate regional
10    superintendent of schools;
11        (3) ordered to obtain counseling or other supportive
12    services;
13        (4) subject to a fine in an amount in excess of $5, but
14    not exceeding $100, and each day of absence without valid
15    cause as defined in Section 26-2a of The School Code is a
16    separate offense;
17        (5) required to perform some reasonable public service
18    work such as, but not limited to, the picking up of litter
19    in public parks or along public highways or the maintenance
20    of public facilities; or
21        (6) subject to having his or her driver's license or
22    driving privilege suspended for a period of time as
23    determined by the court but only until he or she attains 18
24    years of age; or
25        (7) ordered to attend school in a non-disruptive manner
26    until the minor's 17th birthday.

 

 

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1    A dispositional order may include a fine, public service,
2or suspension of a driver's license or privilege only if the
3court has made an express written finding that a truancy
4prevention program has been offered by the school, regional
5superintendent of schools, or a comprehensive community based
6youth service agency to the truant minor in need of
7supervision.
8    (c) Orders entered under this Section may be enforced by
9contempt proceedings. Such proceedings may include a finding of
10contempt against the minor or guardian if the court finds that
11the guardian has consented to, or has otherwise assisted,
12aided, or facilitated, the minor's classification as a chronic
13truant. Upon a finding of contempt against the minor or
14guardian, the court may sentence the minor or guardian to a
15period of incarceration in the county jail in the case of a
16guardian, or in the nearest juvenile detention facility, in the
17case of a minor; provided that the court shall
18contemporaneously enter a purge order which provides that the
19minor or guardian may be released from custody upon
20verification that the minor is attending school as certified by
21the Regional Office of Education. Incarceration of a minor
22pursuant to this subsection (c) shall not be designated as a
23status offense by any juvenile detention facility pursuant to
24subsection (3) of Section 5-401.
25(Source: P.A. 94-1011, eff. 7-7-06.)
 
26    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon

 

 

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1becoming law.