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LINCOLN — The “critical point” in stopping kids from joining gangs and engaging in violent shootings is to keep them in school, says State Sen. Brad Ashford of Omaha.
A bill that would revamp how Nebraska deals with juveniles who are skipping school and those who are headed to court for minor crimes received a 39-0, first-round advancement Monday. The bill was crafted by Ashford and others involved with at-risk kids.
The measure was portrayed as the next logical step by the Legislature, which in recent years has authorized more mental-health services for at-risk youths, created an office of violence prevention to head off gang violence and established a learning community in the Omaha area to address the learning gap between affluent and poor students.
Reducing truancy by getting quicker intervention is a top goal of Legislative Bill 800.
Under the bill, schools would be required to report truancy cases monthly to the state and to collaborate with county attorneys on how to deal with truants.
It sets a clear threshold — 20 days of absences, excused or not, during a school year — after which a student would be reported to the county attorney.
Ashford said that should prompt earlier intervention and trigger steps to get kids back in school, leading to higher graduation rates and improved prospects for jobs and success later in life.
“We've learned that at-risk kids do better when they stay in school,” said Grand Island Sen. Mike Gloor.
During floor debate, Gloor told of an innovative Grand Island schools program in which an “attendance court” is convened to determine what steps a family and school must take to keep a child from continually skipping school. A deputy county attorney acts as judge.
That program, Gloor said, reduced truancy filings in the district from 30 during the 2008-09 school year to three this school year.
The program might spread under LB 800.
The bill would create a state Truancy Intervention Task Force that would recommend ways to reduce excessive truancy by July 2011. Task force members would be the heads of the state education, health and probation departments.
Truancy cases have exploded in Douglas County this school year. Through Feb. 24, 640 truancy cases have been referred to the County Attorney's Office. That's 2½ times the number of cases referred over the entire 2008-09 school year.
The glut prompted Douglas County Juvenile Court Judge Elizabeth Crnkovich to set up a diversion program aimed at offering those kids a chance to stay out of court if they stayed in school.
During floor debate Monday, Omaha Sen. Brenda Council said the answer is not to “criminalize” truancy but to establish plans to keep youths in school.
Other provisions of LB 800 would allow a pilot project in Douglas County to issue “civil citations” to juveniles for minor, nonviolent offenses. They would be sent to counseling and education programs rather than to juvenile court.
Under another provision, if juveniles did end up with a criminal record consisting of minor offenses, the records could be sealed from prospective employers and others if the youths successfully completed probation programs.
“Minor” mistakes made as kids shouldn't prevent people from obtaining a job, a college scholarship or entry to medical school, Ashford said.
The bill clarifies that juveniles who commit minor “status” offenses, such as running away from home, would not be sent to juvenile detention facilities. Omaha Sen. Steve Lathrop and others said placing minor offenders with “real criminals” discourages youths and teaches them worse behaviors.
Contact the writer:
402-473-9584, paul.hammel@owh.com
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