Supervisors to consider proposed truancy law

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• San Luis Obispo County Board of Supervisors to consider truancy ordinance

  San Luis Obispo County Board of Supervisors to consider truancy ordinance

  Minors in San Luis Obispo County’s unincorporated areas who are skipping school would find it tougher to stay out on the street if an ordinance being considered by the Board of Supervisors comes to pass.

  The board is being asked to hold a public hearing Jan. 17 on the proposed truancy ordinance. It is being introduced at Tuesday’s supervisors’ meeting, but only for purposes of setting a date for the hearing next month.

  Should it be approved, it would affect only unincorporated parts of San Luis Obispo County, which are those areas outside city limits.

• Ordinance targeting kids who skip school to be discussed by SLO County supervisors

  Ordinance targeting kids who skip school to be discussed by SLO County supervisors

  A proposed local law that would make it more difficult for minors in San Luis Obispo County’s rural areas to skip school will be discussed Tuesday morning at the county Board of Supervisors meeting.

  The hearing will go forward as scheduled, even though some parents and others have asked that it be rescheduled at a time when students can be present. The supervisors’ meeting begins at 9 a.m. at the County Government Center, 1055 Monterey St., San Luis Obispo.

  Under the proposed ordinance, Chief Probation Officer Jim Salio wrote in a staff report, law enforcement officers would be able to "temporarily detain" a minor they believe to be truant during school hours. The officer would be empowered "to return that minor to school or his or her parents or legal guardian."

• Tougher truancy law in SLO County is a no-go

  Tougher truancy law in SLO County is a no-go

  The county has pulled the plug on its proposed anti-truancy ordinance, which had alarmed parents of home schoolers who felt it could unfairly target their children, as well as civil libertarians who said it violated constitutional protections against unreasonable searches without probable cause.

  “We don’t need to be upsetting a lot of folks,” said Supervisor Adam Hill, adding that the earlier ordinance raised a lot of unanswered questions.

  The Board of Supervisors deliberated the local ordinance in January but asked for more information when proponents — including the sheriff, chief probation officer and superintendent of schools — could not answer questions about these concerns to the board’s satisfaction.

• Viewpoint: Trouble in truancy ordinance

  Viewpoint: Trouble in truancy ordinance

  How can a police officer tell the difference between your innocent son or daughter and a truant? He can’t, at least not without stopping and questioning your child.

  If the proposed county truancy ordinance is passed by the San Luis Obispo County Board of Supervisors, that is exactly the power and authority that truancy officers and sheriff’s deputies in unincorporated areas of the county will receive. They will be able to stop and question children they perceive to be between the ages of 6 and 18 if they are found to be in public places and/or are not with their parents or guardians during public school hours.

  Twelve exemptions are written into the ordinance intended to protect the non-truant child, but these exemptions cannot and will never guarantee that your child won’t be stopped by authorities while walking down a street, studying in a public library or en route to a Cuesta College class or a job. It won’t even guarantee that your high school graduate won’t be detained for questioning and proof of

• SLO County supervisors delay vote on truancy law

  SLO County supervisors delay vote on truancy law

  Pressed by parents who accused them of criminalizing their school-age children, San Luis Obispo County supervisors on Tuesday postponed a decision on an anti-truancy ordinance until they have time to conduct a thorough publicity campaign.

  The Board of Supervisors and other officials have been working on the law in an effort to get youngsters who skip school back into the classroom.

  Truancy, officials argue, is a predictor of who will drop out of school.