Printed Page 7870, June 1
| Printed Page 7890, June 1
|
Printed Page 7870, June 1
| Printed Page 7890, June 1
| (2) Before the conference, appropriate school personnel, including special education staffs, must have reviewed all pertinent school records, met with the child if possible, and taken other necessary steps to determine:
(a) whether curriculum changes would assist in resolving the nonattendance problem. Such curriculum changes may include enrollment of the child in an alternative educational program, including vocational education, that meets the child's specific educational and behavioral needs;
(b) whether there are psychological problems, learning disabilities, or other physical or mental disabilities contributing to the child's nonattendance;
(c) whether there are related health or human services needs or economic needs, including needs of other family members, that may be impeding the child's school attendance.
(3) Based on the determinations made by school personnel pursuant to this subsection and on other pertinent information, the district shall work with the parent or guardian at the time of the nonattendance conference to formulate a proposed intervention plan. The plan must address:
(a) the reasons for nonattendance, as stated by the parent or guardian and by the child;
(b) an assessment of the needs to be met to facilitate the child's future attendance;
(c) the actions to be taken by the parent or guardian to resolve the nonattendance problem;
(d) the actions to be taken by the student to resolve the nonattendance
problem;
(f) referrals to other agencies or services for the student or the family, as appropriate and as indicated by the needs assessment;
(g) signatures of the parent or guardian and, if appropriate, of the student;
(h) whether the child should be referred for evaluation for special education or whether an existing individual education plan should be revised. An individual education plan that includes the items contained in items (a) through (g) may be used as the proposed intervention plan.
The plan must be reduced to writing by the school district, a copy included in the child's permanent record, and a copy provided to the parent or guardian no later than five working days after the conference.
(4) The district must designate an individual to be responsible for follow-up, monitoring, and any subsequent adjustment of the plan. The signature of the designated individual must appear on the plan. Districts and schools are encouraged to make use of team approaches that utilize input and participation by teachers, guidance counselors, attendance supervisors, and other appropriate school or agency personnel.
(5) If the parent or guardian fails to comply with the request for a conference with attendance officials, the board of trustees or its designee shall report the nonattendance in writing to the family court and shall apply for a court administration document utilizing forms developed by the Office of Court Administration ordering the parent or guardian to appear at a place designated by the school official. The family court shall issue the Office of Court Administration document upon request in the manner that jury summons are issued. If the parent or guardian fails to comply with the summons, the school district may have the solicitor apply for an order from the family court directing the parent or guardian to appear and show cause why the parent or guardian should not be held in contempt. Contempt is punishable by a fine of fifty dollars, thirty days imprisonment, or public service, or a combination of them.
(C) After a child has had six consecutive unlawful absences or a total of eight unlawful absences, the school district may file a report with the solicitor if it is determined that future achievement, attendance, or well-being are in jeopardy. The report must indicate the affirmative action taken by the district to work with the child, with the parent or guardian and all other appropriate entities to secure the child's attendance. Filing of such a report does not relieve the school district of its responsibility to
SECTION 25. Section 59-65-60 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:
"Section 59-65-60. (a) Upon receipt of such report, the court may forthwith order the appearance before such court of the responsible parent or guardian and if it deems necessary, the minor involved, for such action as the court may deem necessary to carry out the provisions of this article.
(b) The court may, after hearing upon ten days notice, order such parent or guardian to require such child to attend school and upon failure of such parent to comply with such order may punish such parent or guardian as by contempt, provided, that punishment for such contempt cannot exceed fifty dollars or thirty days imprisonment for each offense.
The procedure herein provided shall be alternative to the penalties provided in Section 59-65-20.
(A) Upon the tenth unlawful absence, the further accumulation of unlawful absences for the purpose of school attendance must be tolled until the date of the family court hearing. Within twenty-four hours following the tenth unlawful absence, the school district shall make a report of the nonattendance to the solicitor. The report must indicate the affirmative action taken by the district to work with the child and with the parent or guardian and all other appropriate entities to secure the child's attendance. If this deadline falls upon a weekend, the school district shall have until five o'clock p.m. the following Monday to discharge this duty. This report must be made regardless of whether any action has already been commenced under subsection (G) of this section and the following mandatory timelines shall apply whenever the number of unlawful absences reaches ten.
Within forty-eight hours following receipt of the report, the solicitor shall file the complaint. If this deadline falls upon a weekend, the solicitor shall have until five o'clock p.m. the following Monday to discharge this duty. After the filing of the complaint for nonattendance, personal service upon the parent or guardian and child must be expedited by the local authorities. An attendance hearing upon the merits of the complaint must be held in the family court within five days following service. However, when the end of the fifth calendar day falls on a weekend, the hearing must be scheduled on the following Monday.
(B) At the attendance hearing the district must make available a copy of the intervention plan, the individual education plan, if any, and, to the extent that it is not include in the plan, information of the child's academic performance including, but not limited to, the total number of absences,
(C) At the attendance hearing the court shall determine whether the parent or guardian, student, and school have taken the actions assigned to each of them in the intervention plan. The court also shall consider the determinations made by school personnel pursuant to subsection (D) of this section and the extent of the investigation conducted by the school district before formulation of the intervention plan, as well as any other relevant evidence.
On appropriate findings, the court may:
(1) order any party who has failed to perform activities assigned in the intervention plan to perform such activities;
(2) order the intervention plan modified in a manner specified by the court, and that activities assigned to parties in the modified plan be performed;
(3) direct the district to further investigate the circumstances surrounding the child's absence from school, including an evaluation of any special educational, psychological, physical, or other needs of the child, modify the intervention plan as indicated by the findings of the investigation, and implement the modified plan;
(4) order the parent or guardian to attend a parental responsibility
program approved by the Department of Education;
(5) order the child to attend school by placing the child under an
attendance order which may require that the child have no unlawful absences from
school for the remainder of the current school year or for a longer period as
appropriate.
(D) A parent or guardian who fails to comply with an order of the court must be ordered to appear and show cause why he should not be held in contempt. Contempt is punishable by a fine of not more than two hundred fifty dollars or imprisonment of not more than thirty days for each offense. A parent or guardian who has made a bona fide and diligent effort to comply with the order of the court and to keep the child in school may not be held in contempt.
At the time of the contempt hearing, the court may take any of the actions
specified in subsection (C), either instead of or in addition to entering a
finding of contempt. In sentencing the parent or guardian, the court shall give
preference to that penalty or service or combination of penalties and service
that shows the most promise of achieving long-term improvement in the child's
school attendance and achievement.
Imprisonment should be used only after it is demonstrated that other efforts have failed and that the parent or guardian wilfully fails to comply with the order of the court.
(E) If a child violates the terms of an attendance order imposed on him by the court and is brought back into court for this violation, the court shall make a finding as to whether a child's nonattendance in school has occurred in spite of the parent's or guardian's bona fide attempt to control and keep the child in school. The court shall make a further finding as to whether the school district has taken all appropriate action to remedy the nonattendance situation.
If the court's findings are affirmative in both cases, the court may declare the child to be a truant, adjudicate the child a status offender, and subject the child to the provision of law in these cases.
(F) If the child is found to be an habitual or chronic truant, the family court must enter an order making one or more of the following dispositions:
(1) refer the child for community-based evaluation;
(2) order the child to remain at home except during hours in which the child is attending religious worship or a school program, with the stipulation that the child may leave his home if accompanied by a parent or guardian;
(3) place the child on probation;
(4) commit the child to the residential program for status offenders at the Department of Juvenile Justice; or
(5) direct other reasonable action for the best interest of the child, including community service but excluding detention.
Before a child may be committed to the Department of Juvenile Justice's Reception and Evaluation Center or residential program for status offenders, the court shall consider whether all appropriate alternative services and programs available in the community have been exhausted. In sentencing the child, the court shall give preference to that penalty or combination of penalties that shows most promise of long-term improvement in the child's school attendance and achievement."
SECTION 26. The provisions of Sections 22, 23, 24, and 25 do not alter,
amend, or repeal the provisions of Section 59-65-30 of the 1976 Code, relating
to the exceptions to compulsory attendance laws or Section 59-65-40 relating to
home schooling programs.
"( ) If a child is found violating compulsory school attendance laws
without reasonable justification, the child must be taken into custody by law
enforcement for the purpose of transporting the child to school. The taking of a
child into custody pursuant to this subsection must not be termed an
arrest."
SECTION 28. The 1976 Code is amended by adding:
"Section 20-7-1351. In addition to the jurisdiction of the family court
as provided in Article 5 of this chapter, the family court has jurisdiction to
order parents of children identified as `in need of services or counseling to
prevent violent behavior' to appear before the court, and upon finding that the
child's behavior can be modified, the court may order an assessment of the
family or family participation in treatment or services to improve the behavior.
A parent may be held in contempt of court for failure to comply with this
section. Parents may be ordered by the family court to participate in family
counseling or in other programs or services. The court may hold a parent in
contempt and fine or otherwise sanction a parent for failure to comply with an
order of the court. However, a contempt citation applied against an individual
family member must be applied only as a last resort and only may be applied if
based upon noncompliance or noncooperation with the treatment, rehabilitative,
or supervision services required by the court and then only until compliance
with these requirements is obtained. Parents also may be referred to the
Department of Juvenile Justice, the Department of Mental Health, the Continuum
of Care for Emotionally Disturbed Children, the Department of Social Services,
or any recognized volunteer organization, as appropriate, for family assessment,
counseling, and service."
SECTION 29. Section 20-7-600(D) of the 1976 Code, as last amended by Act 571 of 1990, is further amended to read:
"(D) Peace officers' records of children must be kept separate from
records of adults, must not be open to public inspection, and may be open to
inspection only by governmental agencies authorized by the judge; however,
the record of a child is open to public inspection if the record pertains to:
(2) a crime in which an illegal weapon was used;
(3) distribution or trafficking in unlawful drugs as defined in Title 44, Chapter 53, Article 3; or
(4) an alcohol related offense for which the penalty is more than one year."
SECTION 30. Section 20-7-600 of the 1976 Code, as last amended by Section 282, Act 181 of 1993, is further amended by adding an appropriately numbered subsection to read:
"( ) When a child is taken into custody by a law enforcement officer for an offense which would be a misdemeanor or felony if committed by an adult, not including traffic or wildlife violations over which courts other than the family court have concurrent jurisdiction as provided for in Section 20-7-410, the law enforcement officer also shall notify the principal of the school in which the child is enrolled of the nature of the offense. This information may be used by the principal for monitoring and supervisory purposes but otherwise must be kept confidential by the principal in the same manner required by Section 20-7-780."
SECTION 31. Section 20-7-770 of the 1976 Code, as last amended by Section 285, Act 181 of 1993, is further amended to read:
"Section 20-7-770. Notwithstanding the right of a person to petition the family court pursuant to Section 20-7-780 for the release of a person's record of juvenile adjudications, upon the request of the Attorney General or a circuit solicitor which is made pursuant to a current criminal investigation or prosecution, the Department of Juvenile Justice shall provide the requesting party with a copy of the juvenile criminal record of a person adjudicated as a juvenile for the commission of:
(1) a violent crime as defined in Section 16-1-60;
(2) a crime in which an illegal weapon was used;
(3) distribution or trafficking in unlawful drugs as defined in Article 3, Chapter 53, Title 44; or
(4) an alcohol related offense for which the penalty is more than one year. A person with a record for an adjudicated violent crime must have his juvenile criminal record maintained by the Department of Juvenile Justice for at least ten years after the date of the violent offense adjudication.
The Department of Juvenile Justice must maintain a juvenile's record for
the same period that the Department of Corrections is required to maintain the
record for offenses committed by an adult when the offense is one for which the
record must be provided pursuant to this section."
"Section 20-7-780. (A) The court shall make and keep records of all cases brought before it the court and shall devise and cause to be printed forms for social and legal records and other papers as may be required. The official juvenile records of the courts and the Department of Juvenile Justice are open to inspection only by consent of the judge to persons having a legitimate interest but always must be available to the legal counsel of the juvenile. All information obtained and social records prepared in the discharge of official duty by an employee of the court or Department of Juvenile Justice is confidential and must not be disclosed directly or indirectly to anyone, other than the judge or others entitled under this chapter to receive this information unless otherwise ordered by the judge. However, these records are open to inspection without the consent of the judge where the records:
(1) are necessary to defend against an action initiated by a juvenile.; or
(2) pertain to:
(a) a violent crime as defined in Section 16-1-60;
(b) a crime in which an illegal weapon was used;
(c) distribution or trafficking in unlawful drugs as defined in Article 3, Chapter 53, Title 44; or
(d) an alcohol-related offense for which the penalty is more than one year.
(B) The When a juvenile is charged with a violent crime as defined in Section 16-1-60 or with a crime in which an illegal weapon was used, the Department of Juvenile Justice, if requested, shall provide the victim of a violent the crime, as defined in Section 16-1-60, with the name and other basic descriptive information about the juvenile charged with the crime and with information about the juvenile justice system, and the status and disposition of the delinquency action, including hearing dates, times, and locations, and with information concerning services available to victims of juvenile crime. The name, identity, or picture of a child under fourteen years of age who is under the jurisdiction of the court, pursuant to this chapter, must not be made public by a newspaper, radio, or television station except as authorized by order of the court or if the juvenile is charged with:
(1) a violent crime as defined in Section 16-1-60;
(2) a crime in which an illegal weapon was used;
(3) distribution or trafficking in unlawful drugs as defined in Article 3,
Chapter 53, Title 44;
(5) being a Peeping Tom as defined in Section 16-17-470. That treatment be mandated for persons convicted.
(C) A juvenile charged with committing a violent offense as defined in Section 16-1-60, or charged with committing grand larceny of a motor vehicle, may be fingerprinted by the law enforcement agency who takes the juvenile into custody if the juvenile is charged with:
(1) a violent crime as defined in Section 16-1-60;
(2) grand larceny of a motor vehicle;
(3) a crime in which an illegal weapon was used;
(4) distribution or trafficking in unlawful drugs as defined in Article 3, Chapter 53, Title 44; or
(5) an alcohol-related offense for which the penalty is more than one year.
(D) A juvenile charged with committing a nonviolent an offense other than those enumerated in subsection (C) or a status offense must may not be fingerprinted by law enforcement except upon order of a family court judge. The fingerprint records of a juvenile must may be kept separate from the fingerprint records of adults. The fingerprint records of a juvenile must may not be transmitted to the files of the State Law Enforcement Division or to the Federal Bureau of Investigation or otherwise distributed or provided to another law enforcement agency unless the juvenile is adjudicated delinquent for having committed:
(1) a violent offense, as defined in Section 16-1-60,; or
(2) grand larceny of a motor vehicle;
(3) a crime in which an illegal weapon was used;
(4) distribution or trafficking in unlawful drugs as defined in Article 3, Chapter 53, Title 44; or
(5) an alcohol-related offense for which the penalty is more than one year.
The fingerprint records of a juvenile who is not adjudicated delinquent for having committed (a) a violent offense, as defined in Section 16-1-60, or (b) grand larceny of a motor vehicle a crime enumerated in this subsection upon notification to law enforcement, must be destroyed or otherwise expunged by the law enforcement agency who took the juvenile into custody. The Department of Juvenile Justice may fingerprint and photograph a juvenile upon commitment to a juvenile correctional institution. Fingerprints and photographs taken by the Department of Juvenile Justice remain confidential and must may not be transmitted to the State Law Enforcement Division, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, or
SECTION 33. Section 20-7-1335 of the 1976 Code, as added by Act 108 of 1987, is amended to read:
"Section 20-7-1335. (A) A juvenile not previously adjudicated delinquent for committing an offense which would have been a crime if committed by an adult, who has been taken into custody, or charged with, or adjudicated delinquent for having committed a status offense or a nonviolent criminal offense, not prohibited in subsection (C) from being expunged, may petition the family court for an order destroying all official records relating to his being taken into custody, the charges filed against him, his the adjudication, and the disposition. The granting of the order is discretionary with the court. However, the court may not grant the order unless it finds that the person who is seeking to have his these records destroyed is at least eighteen years of age, has fully and successfully completed any dispositional sentence imposed upon him, and has neither been charged nor is not currently charged with committing any additional criminal offenses.
(B) For purposes of this section, an adjudication is considered a previous adjudication only if it occurred prior to before the date the subsequent offense was committed.
(C) Under no circumstances is a person allowed to expunge from his record an adjudication for having committed:
(1) a violent crime, as that term is defined in Section 16-1-60; (2) a crime in which an illegal weapon was used;
(3) distribution or trafficking in unlawful drugs as defined in Article 3, Chapter 53, Title 44; or
(4) an alcohol-related offense for which the penalty is more than one year unless the person is not more than twenty-five years of age and has not been adjudicated delinquent or convicted of an offense described in this subsection within the preceding six years.
(D) If the order is granted by the court, no evidence of the records may be retained by any a law enforcement agency or by any a municipal, county, or state agency or department. The effect of the order is to restore the person in the contemplation of the law to the status he the person occupied before he was being taken into custody. No person to whom the order has been entered may be held thereafter under any provision of any law to be guilty of perjury or otherwise giving false statement by reason of his the person's failure to recite or acknowledge the
Printed Page 7870, June 1
| Printed Page 7890, June 1
|