House OKs truancy penalties
By Gordon Y.K. Pang
Advertiser Capitol Bureau
The House yesterday passed a measure that would allow school officials to impose not only detention on truant children, but community service or other sanctions on their parents.
House Bill No. 277 House Draft 1 was approved 40-11, with the opposition coming from Republican members who argued that the measure was too onerous.
The bill allows a school administrative hearings officer to impose penalties on parents if it has been "proved that the person responsible for the child had not used proper diligence to enforce the child's regular attendance at school." The penalty for parents would be up to 50 hours of community service at their child's school, or attendance at social service programs.
If the hearings officer deems that a student "continued to be absent from school," the student would be required to perform detention of up to 50 hours or to be barred from participating in extra-curricular activities for up to 50 days.
Currently, parents can be found guilty of a petty misdemeanor for not properly ensuring that their children attend school, but the measure would also provide the school with an administrative way of imposing sanctions on the parents.
Rep. Maile Shimabukuro, D-45th (Wai'anae, Makaha), lead introducer of the Keiki Caucus bill, said afterward that educators in her district are seeking more teeth in truancy laws. She said the law now only provides for truancy matters to be handled as a petty misdemeanor case against students and their parents through a referral to Family Court.
"They say they're just not given enough avenues to try to address the problem of truancy," Shimabukuro said. "The other big problem with the current rules is if they have to go to Family Court, it takes a long time to get truancy cases heard."
Wai'anae High School officials supported the measure in committee, stating that more than 10 percent of the 1,900-plus students on their campus are absent from class on any given day while more than 200 students are out more than 10 days each quarter.
Student truancy cases would still be taken to Family Court and the bill would also further stiffen penalties to allow a judge to suspend a student's driver's license or permit for up to 50 days.
House Minority Leader Galen Fox, R-23rd (Waikiki, Ala Moana, Kaka'ako), said parents should not be held liable for their children's actions in school, noting that many are unable to control the students, particularly if they are over 18.
Rep. William Stonebraker, R-17th (Hawai'i Kai, Kalama Valley), said he is opposed to the notion of punishing students by keeping them away from extra-curricular activities, because that could serve as a further disincentive to go to school.
"I would fear that the punishment is not actually an incentive to come to school, but it would actually keep them away from the things that may be drawing them in the first place," he said.
The bill now goes to the Senate.
