HONOLULU POLICE DEPARTMENT POLICY LAW ENFORCEMENT OPERATIONS June 17,2015 Policy Number 4.341 TRUANCY POLICY The truancy law shall be enforced in accordance with this directive. PROCEDURE I. COMPULSORY SCHOOL ATTENDANCE A. Section 302A-1132, Hawaii Revised Statutes (HRS) , provides that school attendance (public or private) is required of all children who will have arrived at the age of at least five y ears on or before July 31 of the school year and who will not have arrived at the age of eighteen years by January 1 of any school year, unless the child is excluded from school or excepted from attendance. This section also provides that any parent, guardian, or other person having the responsibility for or care of a child must send the child to school unless the child is exempted by law. B. Section 302A- 1135 , HRS, provides that any parent, guardian, or other person who is responsible for a child and does not diligently enforce the child's regular school attendance shall be guilty of a petty misdemeanor. C. Under Section 302A-1136, HRS, the Department of Education (DOE) is charged with enforcement of the compulsory school attendance law. However, the police are also responsible for the enforcement of such laws subject to the plans and policies of the DOE. Reviewed for Public Release June 17,2015 Policy Number 4.34 Page 2 II. PROCEDURES FOR ENFORCEMENT OF THE TRUANCY LAW Officers of the Honolulu Police Department shall be guided by this directive when enforcing the truancy law. During their tour of duty, officers may come across juveniles suspected of violating truancy laws. Officers should stop and check all suspected truants during their tour of duty. A. Any student found off campus during normal school hours should have in his or her possession a pass authorizing the student to be out of school. The DOE has a standard pass for all public school students; the private schools have individualized passes for their students. Any student without a pass may be considered a truant and should be arrested for truancy. B. If a juvenile is found to be a nonstudent, (e.g., is not registered in a public or private school and is not exempted from attendance), he or she shall be taken into custody and charged for the applicable section(s) of 571-11, HRS, such as: 1. 571-11 (2) (A), which addresses juveniles who are neglected as to or deprived of educational services; or 2. 571-11 (2) (C), which addresses juveniles who are neither attending school nor receiving educational services required by law through their own misbehavior, nonattendance, or otherwise. C. If a juvenile is arrested for a criminal offense and is found to be a truant, he or she will also be processed for truancy. The truancy wil l not be handled as a separate case and will remain with the criminal case for disposition by the investigator. D. If a student arrested for truancy cannot be returned to a parent or guardian because the offi cer cannot locate or notify the truant's family, the student may be released to the counselor or principal of the student's school. Reviewed for Public Release June 17,2015 III. TRUANCY DISPOSITION AFTER ARREST Policy Number 4.34 Page 3 After a juvenile is arrested for truancy, each arrest report will be forwarded to the state Attorney General ' s office for proper disposition. IV. REQUIRED REPORTS Whenever a student is arrested for truancy, a numbered police report and Juvenile Arrest Report (JAR) shall be submitted by the officer and a copy forwarded to the Records and Identification Division . A. Truancy arrests should be processed by the arresting officer as an absentee booking via the JAR . B. All of the information blocks on the JAR must be filled in completely. The original JAR and two copies of the arrest report shall be forwarded to the Records and Identification Division . C. The circumstances under which the student is detained and the actions taken by the department shall be clearly explained. Post on bulletin board for one week Policy first issued March 29, 2002 LOUI SM. KEALO~ Chief of Police Reviewed for Public Release http://www.honolulupd.org/information/pdfs/Truancy-06-24-2015-09-09-45.pdf Good stuff..
I can see why a student might opt out if they can't succeed at the graduation requirements and won't therefore get a standard diploma why should they bother going at some point. I might suggest a diversion program into learning skills instead of focusing on graduation at some point say this student won't earn a diploma lets focus all their education on workforce skills. Most High Schools offer some kind of education in such skills so why fight nature if a student can't cut algebra and science and won't be going to college for a bachelor's, do what you can, then students might opt to stay in school. I never saw a good reason for making students go to school if the students might want to do some other kind of education and parents have a Plan B. I'm not trying to be a pain but the students education should be largely the parents obligation the government might help or be the means to but the control should be with the parents in the end.
In FL at least, a student has to pass Algebra and Geometry to get a high school diploma--no exceptions.
I know and if I was in school now I wouldn't pass those, I failed Algebra twice and Geometry twice, the private school gave me credit for mathematics in Consumer Math and my year of Accounting or no diploma for me. They don't do that now. So if a student won't pass those subjects why should they stay in school for long, I would rather have options like okay your not good enough at mathematics but are smart enough to learn skills so focus on those and we will offer a Technical Diploma so you leave meeting some set of requirements. And certifications and help tracking into an apprenticeship or trade school would be good. So the best option to me for this is make the education relevant and obtainable if a student isn't college material so be it there is no shame in mathematics applied to work a food service education would have mathematics, so would air conditioning/heating technology and such.
Well, they divide the Algebra up into two years. At the end of the two years, they have to take a state standardized EOC exam (end of course exam). I'm not justifying the policy, just stating what it is. I don't particularly think it's a good thing, but I'm not making those decisions in Tallahassee (state capital).
Well I just said maybe if a student learned useful things and not ,lets pick something, Shakespeare or had to take Algebra for a year of Bookkeeping or Employability Math for the Trades (good for pre-coursework to do a trade) then they might opt in but so much of the education seems to be college and college. And not college or entering the workforce upon graduation full-time. We need both. And then okay then putting pressure to go to school on parents. If a student won't graduate and won't learn things they find interesting and relevant then why bother forcing them into school they won't like it, won't learn and become behavioral problems.
I don't know, I feel a little uneasy about these type of laws. It is a form of slavery in a way. Of course it's appropriate to ensure children receive a basic education, but at what point is enough enough? And that's a lot of the hours of their life spent in school, six hours a day, five days a week, not counting transportation and homework.
I'm going to guess that kids who enjoy education are the kids doing well in education and that those who struggle in school are more likely to be truant...at least this seems logical to me. If so, why are so many school kids doing so poorly in school? Considering myself I hated school and was always in trouble and looking back I was forced to learn things I had no interest, I had teachers that were unqualified, I felt there was duplication, many school facilities were inadequate, and it was just too much time; 5 days a week for 36 weeks per year for 12 years! Not considering myself, every kid has different interests, different capabilities, different energy, etc. and a one-sized-fits-all approach is a problem for me. All of this before we even discuss external factors like home life, parents, peers, crime, health, finance, etc. Considering myself again, I would prefer greatly shortening the K-12 education down to perhaps K-8, with grade 9 being college prep, then move on to college studies/trade certification. Going to school for ~2160 days, I would expect school facilities to be clean, updated, heated and cooled, well lighted, with state-of-the-art equipment. Lastly, I would prefer teachers who are much smarter and more dynamic than the kids, with more interest in educating than they are disciplining. Bottom line; public education is far too complex and costly for political idiots to design and manage...
