LINCOLN — A bill aimed at better targeting the state's truancy law advanced Wednesday to the full Legislature.
But that didn't satisfy an Omaha mother who is leading parent opposition to the truancy law.
“I don't think this is the best legal and sound way to proceed,” said Stephanie Morgan, the head of the Nebraska Family Forum.
The measure that advanced from the Judiciary Committee still would require that students who miss more than 20 days of school, for any reason, be reported to the county attorney's office.
Under the bill, however, school officials would have to recommend how county attorneys should handle the reports.
Districts would have to say whether a student fits one of three categories:
» The absences are due to documented illness or are otherwise excused by the school.
» The school wants additional time to work with the student before any legal intervention.
» The school has made all reasonable efforts to resolve the situation and recommends action by the county attorney.
Legislative Bill 933 does not specify how the county attorney should handle the school recommendations.
State Sen. Brad Ashford of Omaha, chairman of the Judiciary Committee, said the intent is to narrow the number of students referred for action by the county attorney.
Under a law passed in 2010, schools must report all students who accumulate more than 20 absences in a year. The law leaves it up to the county attorneys to decide how to handle the reports.
While some schools now provide recommendations about how the cases should be handled, not all are doing so.
Morgan said the proposed change would improve the current situation by creating some consistency and providing more information to prosecutors.
But she said it does not resolve parents' concerns about the law's effects on students who miss school because of illnesses or other legitimate reasons.
“Why is it necessary for those cases to be referred at all?” Morgan asked.
Brenda Vosik, another Omaha mother, said the proposal would still involve families unnecessarily in the legal system.
“If there's going to be no action taken, why are these students' names being sent to law enforcement, and now they have a legal file?” she asked.
Controversy enveloped Nebraska's truancy law soon after it took effect in the 2010-11 school year.
The law moved away from a traditional definition of truancy, meaning unexcused absences, and focused instead on “excessive absenteeism.”
Ashford said he offered LB 933 and the amendment adopted by the Judiciary Committee on Wednesday because of parents' concerns.
“We've heard them. We've listened to them,” he said.
But the parents and students who testified at a hearing Monday favored LB 1165, introduced by Sen. Tony Fulton of Lincoln.
His bill would have reinstated the traditional definition of truancy while requiring schools to deal with truant students more quickly.
It would require action after a student is truant for five days in a quarter or 10 in a year.
The Judiciary Committee took no action on Fulton's bill.
Contact the writer:
402-473-9583, martha.stoddard@owh.com
Copyright ©2012 Omaha World-Herald®. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, displayed or redistributed for any purpose without permission from the Omaha World-Herald.
