By Mauricio Tellez-Sanchez, August 29, 2019, for Chronicle for Social Change
California Assembly Bill 901 would instruct schools to refer habitually truant students in California to community-based organizations rather than juvenile court.
The California State Senate will vote Friday on a measure that seeks to decriminalize truancy and limit the power of probation departments to work with youth who have not been charged with any crime through “voluntary probation” programs.
Assembly Bill (AB) 901 would prohibit judges in juvenile court from prosecuting youths for truancy in many cases. Instead counties in California would have to seek other alternatives for youth with attendance issues. That includes referring juveniles to community-based diversion programs before issuing a notice to appear in juvenile court. The bill would also prevent probation departments from working with youth with academic issues through so-called “voluntary probation” programs.
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