BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    



                                                                       



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          |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE            |                  SB 1317|
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                                 THIRD READING


          Bill No:  SB 1317
          Author:   Leno (D)
          Amended:  5/6/10
          Vote:     21

           
           SENATE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE  :  6-1, 4/20/10
          AYES:  Leno, Cedillo, Hancock, Huff, Steinberg, Wright
          NOES:  Cogdill

           SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE  :  8-1, 5/10/10
          AYES:  Kehoe, Cox, Alquist, Leno, Price, Wolk, Wyland, Yee
          NOES:  Walters
          NO VOTE RECORDED:  Corbett, Denham


           SUBJECT  :    Truancy

           SOURCE  :     San Francisco District Attorney 


           DIGEST :    This bill enacts a new misdemeanor for parents  
          of K-8 children who are chronically truant, as specified;  
          and authorizes courts to establish a deferred entry of  
          judgment program to handle cases involving parents or  
          guardians of elementary school pupils who are chronically  
          truant, with specified features.  

           ANALYSIS  :    Current law provides that "every person who  
          commits any act or omits the performance of any duty, which  
          act or omission causes or tends to cause or encourage any  
          person under the age of 18 years to (become a dependent or  
          delinquent ward of the juvenile court) or which act or  
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          omission contributes thereto, or any person who, by any act  
          or omission, or by threats, commands, or persuasion,  
          induces or endeavors to induce any person under the age of  
          18 years or any ward or dependent child of the juvenile  
          court to fail or refuse to conform to a lawful order of the  
          juvenile court, or to do or to perform any act or to follow  
          any course of conduct or to so live as would cause or  
          manifestly tend to cause that person to become or to remain  
          a person within the (jurisdiction of the dependency or  
          delinquency court, as specified), is guilty of a  
          misdemeanor and upon conviction thereof shall be punished  
          by a fine not exceeding $2,500, or by imprisonment in the  
          county jail for not more than one year, or by both fine and  
          imprisonment in a county jail, or may be released on  
          probation for a period not exceeding five years."  (Penal  
          Code  272.)  

          Current law provides that for purposes of these provisions,  
          "a parent or legal guardian to any person under the age of  
          18 years shall have the duty to exercise reasonable care,  
          supervision, protection, and control over their minor  
          child."  (Id.)

          This bill would enact a new crime providing that a "parent  
          or guardian of a pupil of six years of age or more who is  
          in kindergarten or any of grades 1 to 8, inclusive, and who  
          is subject to compulsory full-time education or compulsory  
          continuation education, whose child is a chronic truant as  
          defined in Section 48263.6 of the Education Code, and who  
          has failed to reasonably supervise and encourage the  
          pupil's school attendance, is guilty of a misdemeanor,"  
          punishable by a fine not exceeding $2,000, or by  
          imprisonment in the county jail not exceeding one year, or  
          by both that fine and imprisonment. 

          Current law authorizes a diversion program for parents or  
          guardians who are being prosecuted for contributing to the  
          delinquency of a minor under Penal Code section 272, as  
          specified.  (Penal Code  1001.70 et seq.)

          This bill provides that a parent or guardian guilty of the  
          new misdemeanor this bill would create would be eligible to  
          participate in the deferred entry of judgment program  
          created by this bill, as explained below.







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          This bill authorizes a superior court to establish a  
          deferred entry of judgment program "to adjudicate cases  
          involving parents or guardians of elementary school pupils  
          who are chronic truants as defined in Section 48263.6 of  
          the Education Code, " with the following components:

          1.A dedicated court calendar.

          2.Leadership by a judge of the superior court in that  
            county.

          3.Service referrals for parents or guardians, including,  
            but not necessarily limited to, all of the following:

                  A.        Case management.
                  B.        Mental and physical health services.
                  C.        Parenting classes and support.
                  D.        Substance abuse treatment.
                  E.        Child care and housing.

          4.A clear statement that, in lieu of trial, the court may  
            grant deferred entry of judgment with respect to the  
            current crime or crimes charged if the defendant pleads  
            guilty to each charge and waives time for the  
            pronouncement of judgment and that, upon the defendant's  
            compliance with the terms and conditions set forth by the  
            court and agreed to by the defendant upon the entry of  
            his or her plea, and upon the motion of the prosecuting  
            attorney, the court will dismiss the charge or charges  
            against the defendant, as specified.

          5.A clear statement that failure to comply with any  
            condition under the program may result in the prosecuting  
            attorney or the court making a motion for entry of  
            judgment, whereupon the court will render a finding of  
            guilty to the charge or charges pled, enter judgment, and  
            schedule a sentencing hearing as otherwise provided in  
            this code.

          6.An explanation of criminal record retention and  
            disposition resulting from participation in the deferred  
            entry of judgment program and the defendant's rights  
            relative to answering questions about his or her arrest  







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            and deferred entry of judgment following successful  
            completion of the program.

          This bill requires that funding for the deferred entry of  
          judgment program come solely from nonstate services.

          This bill becomes operative only if SB 1148 of the 2009-10  
          Regular Session is enacted, adds Section 48263.6 to the  
          Education Code, and becomes operative on or before January  
          1, 2011.

           Related Legislation
           
          This bill is contingent upon the passage of Senator  
          Alquist's bill, SB 1148, which as amended April 6, 2010,  
          would provide the following definition of chronic truancy:

               Any pupil subject to compulsory full-time education or  
               to compulsory continuation education who is absent  
               from school without valid excuse for 10 percent or  
               more of the schooldays in one school year, from the  
               date of enrollment to the current date, is deemed a  
               chronic truant, provided that the appropriate school  
               district officer or employee has complied with  
               Sections 48260, 48260.5, 48261, 48262, 48263, and  
               48291.  (emphasis added.)

           FISCAL EFFECT  :    Appropriation:  No   Fiscal Com.:  Yes    
          Local:  Yes

           SUPPORT  :   (Verified  5/12/10)

          San Francisco District Attorney (source) 
          California District Attorneys Association
          California State PTA
          California Teachers Association
          California Probation, Parole, and Correctional Association
          Chief Probation Officers of California


           ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT  :    According to the author's office:

               When it comes to breaking the cycle of crime, we can  
               either pay attention to the signs of trouble now, or  







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               we can pay the price later.  We pay that price in more  
               ways than one.  Elementary school children who fail to  
               attend school today become tomorrow's high school  
               dropouts.  Dropouts are those most likely to end up in  
               the streets as either victims or perpetrators of  
               crime.  ? Combating elementary school truancy is a  
               smart approach to crime prevention.

               The statistics speak volumes.  Habitual truants become  
               high school truants, and it is estimated that as many  
               as 75 percent of all truant high school students will  
               eventually drop out of school.  Statewide,  
               three-fourths of prison inmates are high school  
               dropouts.  In San Francisco, over 94 percent of all  
               homicide victims under the age of 25 are high school  
               dropouts.  ?

               ? In 2007, the National Center for Children in Poverty  
               issued a study finding that children who miss 10  
               percent or more of the days in a given school year are  
               the most likely to suffer lower academic performance  
               in subsequent school years.  ? 

               ? Numerous studies demonstrate a strong correlation  
               between teenage truancy and juvenile delinquency.  The  
               California Department of Education identified truancy  
               as the most powerful predictor of juvenile delinquent  
               behavior.  The Office of Juvenile Justice and  
               Delinquency Prevention reported that truancy  
               correlates with substance abuse, gang involvement, and  
               other criminal activity.  A report by Fight Crime:  
               Invest in Kids concluded that increasing graduation  
               rates by 10 percentage points would decrease rates of  
               violent crime by 20 percent, and prevent 500 murders  
               and more than 20,000 aggravated assaults each year in  
               California.  ?
                
               County prosecutors have relied on Penal Code Section  
               272, "contributing to the delinquency of a minor" to  
               seek stronger sanctions against parents of repeatedly  
               truant children.  Although Section 272 does not  
               specifically address truancy, courts have found  
               parents guilty of this misdemeanor if their failure to  
               get their child in school results in delinquent  







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               juvenile behavior.  Under this statute, parents can be  
               fined up to $2,500 or placed in jail for 6 months. 

               Unfortunately, however, neither the Education Code nor  
               the Penal Code effectively addresses the most serious  
               problem that needs the most immediate attention:  
               chronic elementary school truancy. 

               The Education Code does not distinguish between levels  
               of truancy, leaving the potential for parents of  
               children who have missed 5 days to be considered as  
               liable as parents of children who have missed 50 days  
               for failing to ensure access to education.  The most  
               severe consequence that a parent can receive under the  
               Education Code is an infraction conviction and a fine.  
                (Education Code Section 48293)

               Second, the Penal Code's silence on the issue of  
               truancy leaves prosecutors and courts with the  
               unhelpful option of focusing on whether the child is  
               delinquent as a result of missing school, rather than  
               focusing on the parents' failure to provide a basic  
               need.  Parents who allow their young children to have  
               chronic levels of truancy are neglecting their child's  
               needs, regardless of whether that child demonstrates  
               delinquent behavior.  Failing to educate a child is an  
               issue of neglect, just like failing to feed or clothe  
               them.  

               Finally, when prosecutors do invoke "contributing to  
               the delinquency of a minor" to bring misdemeanor  
               charges against parents of severely truant children,  
               criminal courts have widely varying responses to these  
               charges.  Some courts take a punitive approach that  
               may levy a fine or jail time on the parent but may not  
               result in the return of the child to school, while  
               others may not take these charges seriously, given the  
               gravity of other criminal offenses being addressed,  
               and may throw out the cases with no changed  
               circumstances for the child.  ?


          RJG:nl  5/12/10   Senate Floor Analyses 








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                         SUPPORT/OPPOSITION:  SEE ABOVE

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