Tuesday, March 06, 2012

C  I  T  Y    O  F    A  T  L  A  N  T  A

Atlanta City Council approves ordinance allowing for more flexibility in combating truancy

ATLANTA – The Atlanta City Council on Monday unanimously approved an ordinance allowing for more flexibility in combating school truancy.

In 2009 the City Council created a daytime curfew for children ages 6 to 15 that forbids them from being in public places during school day from 8:30am to 2:30pm.

Currently if the Atlanta Police Department finds a student breaking the daytime curfew, they will contact Atlanta Public Schools, and the parent of the child.  After this process occurs three times, the police may cite the parent, and order them to appear in Municipal Court.

Monday’s vote now gives courts more options to fashion a remedy to the parent upon the first conviction.  The remedies could include parenting classes, counseling, community service, or possibly a fine or jail time for the parent.

“The goal of this ordinance is NOT to put parents in jail or to administer fines.  Those are the methods of last resort,” said City Council President Ceasar C. Mitchell. “Court is an option only after multiple attempts by Atlanta Public Schools and the Atlanta Police Department to engage the parent in working to improve the attendance of the student.”

Studies have shown that truancy and school dropout rates are intertwined.

Nearly 90% of youth in detention for delinquency have history of truancy, Mitchell said.

Truancy can also lead to or encourage other high risk behaviors, he said.

In September 2011 the Georgia Department of Education released a first-of-its kind report on school truancy, or student absences. The data shows that ten percent of Georgia students missed at least 15 days of school the previous year.

“This is a collaboration of the Atlanta City Council with Atlanta Public Schools, the Atlanta Police Department, and the City Solicitors Office,” said Council President Mitchell.  “This is the kind of partnership we need to continue to move out city forward.” 

A complete list of items on the City Council’s agenda can be viewed in their entirety on the Web at: http://citycouncil.atlantaga.gov/2012/fca0206.htm

All adopted legislative items and any amendments to those items or substitute papers can be viewed at: http://citycouncil.atlantaga.gov/Captions/default.asp

City Council minutes can be viewed at: http://citycouncil.atlantaga.gov/Minutes2.htm

Archived video of Atlanta City Council meetings can be viewed at: http://citycouncil.atlantaga.gov/Video.htm