Algonquin looks at way to battle truancy
Following the example of Carpentersville, Algonquin is moving toward enacting an ordinance that imposes fines as a last resort to deal with truant students.
The proposed truancy ordinance calls for a $75 citation for students on the first offense, and $150 citations for both students and their parents — or $300 overall — on the second offense, Algonquin Police Chief Russell Laine said at Algonquin's committee of the whole meeting Tuesday evening.
Citations would be issued by the Jacobs High School school resource officer when school officials determine the student is truant, and only after the school has exhausted its own disciplinary measures, Laine said.
“It's a long process. It's not a surprise to the parent (by the time the citation is issued), or it shouldn't be,” he said.
Students who ditch school would not be fined by patrol officers under the truancy ordinance, he said.
Village Manager Bill Ganek said the proposed ordinance is the result of a meeting a couple of months ago between representatives of local municipalities and Community Unit District 300, during which school officials touted the positive results of the new truancy policy at Dundee-Crown High School.
Carpentersville enacted a truancy ordinance last year, and the Dundee-Crown school liaison officer began issuing truancy citations to students in October, said Carpentersville Police Cmdr. Tim Bosshart.
The Dundee-Crown school liaison officer wrote 292 truancy citations from October to May, Bosshart said. Kids can be written up for missing just one class, he said.
In Carpentersville, the offense can either be written up as a $75 ordinance violation, or as a notice to appear in court, where fines can range from $75 to $1,000. Judges usually assign community service, Bosshart said. The new policy has elicited positive feedback, he said.
“It just took off. The school loved it, the parents loved it, it's now spreading throughout the district and from what I hear, other districts are talking about it as well,” he said.
The ordinance will be up for approval by the Algonquin village board next Tuesday.