Sec. 3-33 of the Juvenile Court Act of 1987 (705 ILCS 405/3-33) Truant Minor in Need of Supervision
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(105 ILCS 5/26-2)
Sec. 26-2. Enrolled pupils below 7 or over
16. Any person having
custody or control of a child who is below the age of 7
years or above
the age of 16 years and who is enrolled in any of grades 1 through
12,
in the public school shall cause him to attend the public school
in the
district wherein he resides when it is in session during
the regular
school term unless he is excused
under paragraphs 2, 3, 4 or 5 of
Section 26-1.
A school district shall deny reenrollment in its
secondary schools
to any child above the age of 16 years who has dropped out of school
and
who could not, because of age and lack of credits, attend classes during
the normal school year and graduate
before his or her twenty-first
birthday. A district may, however, enroll the child in
an alternative
learning opportunities program established under Article
13B. No child
shall be denied reenrollment for the above reasons unless
the school
district first offers the child due process
as required in cases of
expulsion under Section 10-22.6. If a child
is denied reenrollment
after being provided with due process, the school district must
provide
counseling to that child and must direct that
child to alternative
educational programs, including adult education programs,
that lead to
graduation or receipt of a GED diploma.
No child may be denied
reenrollment in violation of the Individuals with Disabilities Education
Act or the Americans with Disabilities Act.
(Source: P.A. 92-42, eff. 1-1-02.)
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(105 ILCS 5/26-2a)
Sec. 26-2a. A "truant" is defined as a child
subject to compulsory
school attendance and who is absent
without valid cause from such
attendance for a school day or portion thereof.
"Valid cause" for absence
shall be illness, observance of a
religious holiday, death in the immediate family, family emergency,
and
shall include such other situations beyond the control of the student
as
determined by the board of education in each
district, or such other
circumstances which cause reasonable concern to the
parent for the
safety or health of the student.
"Chronic or habitual truant" shall be defined
as a child subject to
compulsory school attendance and who is absent without valid cause
from
such attendance for 10% or more of the previous 180 regular
attendance
days.
"Truant minor" is defined as a chronic truant
to whom supportive
services, including prevention, diagnostic, intervention
and remedial
services, alternative programs and other school and community
resources
have been provided and have failed to result in the cessation of chronic
truancy, or have been offered and refused.
A "dropout" is defined as any child enrolled
in grades 1 through 12
whose name has been removed from the district enrollment roster for
any
reason other than his death, extended illness, graduation or
completion
of a program of studies and who has not transferred to another public
or
private school.
"Religion" for the purposes of this Article, includes
all aspects of
religious observance and practice, as well as belief.
(Source: P.A. 84-1308; 84-1420; 84-1424; 84-1438.)
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(105 ILCS 5/26-2b)
Sec. 26-2b. Any child enrolled in a public
school who is unable,
because of the observance of a religious holiday, to attend classes
on a
particular day or days or at a particular time of day shall
be excused
from any examination or any study or work assignments on such particular
day or days or at such particular time of
day. It shall be the
responsibility of the teachers and of the administrative
officials of
each public school to make available to each child who is
absent from
school because of the observance of a religious holiday
an equivalent
opportunity to make up any examination, study or work requirements
which
he has missed because of such absence on any particular day or
days or
at any particular time of day. No special
fees of any kind shall be
charged to the child for making available to such child such
equivalent
opportunity. No adverse or prejudicial
effects shall result to any
child because of his availing himself of the provisions of this Section.
The provisions of this Section shall apply only
if the rules and
regulations of the school board promulgated pursuant to
paragraph 5 of
Section 26-1 have been complied with.
(Source: P.A. 84-212.)
(105 ILCS 5/26-3)
Sec. 26-3. Teachers furnished list-Report
of non-attendance-Report
of persons not on list.
The clerk or secretary of the school
board of all school districts
except those employing district truant officers
shall furnish the
superintendent of schools at the beginning of the school year
a list of
the names and addresses of the children living in the district who
come
under the provisions of this Article and of persons
having custody or
control of such children. The superintendent shall at the
opening of
school and at other times when required by the regional
superintendent
of schools compare the list with the enrollment of the school or schools
and report to the regional superintendent of
schools the names of
persons having custody or control of
children included under the
provisions of this Article who are truant or who are chronic or habitual
truants for whom supportive services and other school
resources have
failed to correct the truant behavior
and who are not in regular
attendance at the public school, and the names of
such children and
their ages, stating in each case, if known, the cause of
such absence.
The report shall also contain the names of any other persons
who were
not enumerated in the list at the beginning of school and
who have the
custody or control of children not attending
school. The regional
superintendent shall, without delay, place
such information at the
disposal of the regional truant officer.
(Source: P.A. 80-908.)
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(105 ILCS 5/26-3a)
Sec. 26-3a. Report of pupils no longer enrolled
in school.
The clerk or secretary of the school board of all
school districts
shall furnish quarterly on the first school
day of October, January,
April and July to the regional superintendent
a list of pupils,
excluding transferees, who have been expelled or have withdrawn
or who
have left school and have been removed from the regular attendance
rolls
during the period of time school was in regular session from the time
of
the previous quarterly report. Such list shall include
the names and
addresses of pupils formerly in attendance, the names and
addresses of
persons having custody or control of such pupils, the reason, if
known,
such pupils are no longer in attendance and the date of removal from
the
attendance rolls. The regional superintendent shall inform the county
or
district truant officer who shall investigate to
see that such pupils
are in compliance with the requirements of this Article.
In addition, the regional
superintendent of schools of each
educational service region shall report to the State Board of Education,
in January of 1992 and in January of each year thereafter,
the number
and ages of dropouts, as defined in Section 26-2a, in his
educational
service region during the school year
that ended in the immediately
preceding calendar year, together with any
efforts, activities and
programs undertaken, established, implemented
or coordinated by the
regional superintendent of schools that have been effective in
inducing
dropouts to re-enroll in school.
(Source: P.A. 87-303.)
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(105 ILCS 5/26-3b)
Sec. 26-3b. Beginning July 1, 1986, if
any child enrolled in a
public school in grades Kindergarten through 8 is
absent from school,
and there is no record that such absence is for
a valid cause, as
defined under Article 26 of this Code, nor notification that the absence
has been authorized by the parent, legal guardian or other person having
legal custody of such child, an
employee or other agent, whether a
volunteer or otherwise, designated by the public school
in which the
child is enrolled shall, within 2 hours after the first
class in which
the child is enrolled, make a reasonable effort to promptly
telephone
and notify the parent, legal guardian,
or other person having legal
custody of the child, of the child's
absence from school. Such
notification shall not be given for an absence authorized by the parent,
legal guardian or other person having
legal custody of such child.
Prior to any enrollment of a child in a public
school, the school
district shall notify parents, legal guardians, or other persons
having
legal custody of a child, of their responsibility
to authorize any
absence and to notify the school in advance or at the time
of any such
absence, and that the school requires at least one and not more
than 2
telephone numbers be given for purposes
of this Section. The school
district shall require that such telephone numbers be given at the
time
of enrollment of the child in school, which said numbers may
be changed
from time to time upon notification to the school.
The requirements of this Section shall have been
met by the school
if notification of an absence has been attempted by telephoning the
1 or
2 numbers given the school by the parent, legal guardian or other person
having legal custody of a child, whether or not there is
any answer at
such telephone number or numbers. Further, the requirements
of this
Section shall have been met if
the said notification is given to a
member of the household of the child's parent, legal guardian
or other
person having legal custody of the
child, which said member of the
household must be 10 years of age or older.
An employee or other agent designated by the public
school who in
good faith makes a reasonable effort
to notify the parent, legal
guardian or other person having legal custody of a child of the
child's
absence from school, when required by
this Section, shall not, as a
result of his acts or omissions, except wilful or wanton misconduct
on
the part of such employee or agent in
attempting to comply with the
notification requirements of this Section, be liable for civil damages.
(Source: P.A. 84-178; 84-682.)
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(105 ILCS 5/26-3d)
Sec. 26-3d. All regional
superintendents and all district
superintendents in any municipality of 500,000 or more inhabitants
shall
collect data concerning truants, chronic
truants, and truant minor
pupils from school districts and truant officers as designated
by the
State Board of Education.
(Source: P.A. 84-1420.)
(105 ILCS 5/26-4)
Sec. 26-4. (Repealed).
(Source: Repealed by P.A. 88-50.)
(105 ILCS 5/26-5)
Sec. 26-5. Duties of truant officers.
The truant officer of the school district, whenever
notified by the
Superintendent, teacher, or other person of violations of this
Article,
or the county truant officer,
when notified by the County
Superintendent, shall investigate all cases of truancy or non-attendance
at school in their respective jurisdictions,
and if the children
complained of are not exempt under the provisions of this Article,
the
truant officer shall proceed as is provided in this Article.
The county
truant officer, within the county and the district
truant officers,
within their respective districts, shall in the exercise of their duties
be conservators of the peace and shall keep the same,
suppress riots,
routs, affray, fighting, breaches of the peace, and prevent crime;
and
may arrest offenders on view and cause them to be brought before
proper
officials for trial or examination.
(Source: Laws 1961, p. 31.)
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(105 ILCS 5/26-6)
Sec. 26-6. List and reports in districts employing
truant officers.
In school districts which employ
truant officers the clerk or
secretary of the school board shall at the beginning of each school
year
furnish a copy of the last school
census to the superintendent of
schools (or principal teacher) in the district, together with the
names
and addresses of the truant officers
in the district, and the
superintendent, (or principal teacher) shall compare the
census list
with the enrollment of the school or schools
and, from time to time,
report to the proper truant officers the names and addresses of
persons
having custody or control of children included under the
provisions of
this Article who are truant or who are chronic or habitual truants
for
whom supportive services and other school
resources have failed to
correct the truant behavior and who are not in regular
attendance at
public schools and also the names of persons having custody
or control
of children who are not in regular attendance at school and whose
names
are not included in the census list.
(Source: P.A. 80-908.)
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(105 ILCS 5/26-7)
Sec. 26-7. Notice to custodian-Notice of non-compliance.
If any person fails to send any child under his
custody or control
to some lawful school the truant officer shall, as soon
as practicable
after he is notified thereof, give notice in person or by mail
to such
person that such child shall be present at the proper public
school on
the day following the receipt of such notice. The notice shall state
the
date that attendance at school must begin and that such attendance
must
be continuous and consecutive in the district during
the remainder of
the school year. The truant officer shall at the same time
that such
notice is given notify the teacher
or superintendent of the proper
public school thereof and the teacher or superintendent shall notify
the
truant officer of any non-compliance therewith.
(Source: Laws 1961, p. 31.)
(105 ILCS 5/26-8)
Sec. 26-8. Determination as to compliance
- Complaint in circuit
court.) All Truant officers after giving the notice provided
in Section
26-7 shall determine whether the notice has been complied with.
If the
notice has not been complied with, and if the persons having
custody or
control have knowingly and wilfully permitted the truant
behavior to
continue, the truant officer shall thereupon make complaint against
such
person to the state's attorney or in the circuit
court in the county
where such person resides for failure to comply with the provisions
of
this Article. If, however, after giving the notice provided
in Section
26-7 the truant behavior has continued, and the child
is beyond the
control of the parents, guardians or
custodians, a truancy petition
shall be filed under the provisions of Article III
of the Juvenile Court
Act of 1987.
(Source: P.A. 85-1209.)
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(105 ILCS 5/26-8a)
Sec. 26-8a. The petition for court action
shall include the name of
the truant minor, the names and addresses of persons having custody
or
control of the student, the dates of the truant behavior, the
dates and
nature of contacts or conferences with the student
and the persons
having custody or control of the
student, and the nature of the
supportive services, alternative programs and other school resources
the
school district provided to that child in an effort
to correct that
child's truant behavior.
(Source: P.A. 80-908.)
(105 ILCS 5/26-8b)
Sec. 26-8b. When a petition is filed,
it shall be set for an
adjudicatory hearing within 10 days and
acted upon within 30 days,
subject to the provisions of the Juvenile Court
Act or the Juvenile
Court Act of 1987 if filed thereunder.
(Source: P.A. 85-1209.)
(105 ILCS 5/26-9)
Sec. 26-9. School officers and teachers to assist
truant officers.
School officers, superintendents, teachers or
other persons shall
render such assistance and furnish such information as they have
to aid
truant officers in the performance of their duties.
(Source: Laws 1961, p. 31.)
(105 ILCS 5/26-10)
Sec. 26-10. Fine for noncompliance.)
Any person having custody or
control of a child subject to the provisions
of this Article to whom
notice has been given of the child's truancy and
who knowingly and
wilfully permits such a child to persist
in his truancy within that
school year, upon conviction thereof shall be guilty
of a Class C
misdemeanor and shall be subject to not more than 30 days
imprisonment
and/or a fine of up to $500.
(Source: P.A. 80-908.)
(105 ILCS 5/26-11)
Sec. 26-11. Punishment for certain offenses.
Any person who induces or attempts to induce any
child to be absent
from school unlawfully, or who knowingly
employs or harbors, while
school is in session, any child absent unlawfully from
school for 3
consecutive school days, is guilty of a Class C misdemeanor.
(Source: P. A. 77-2267.)
(105 ILCS 5/26-12)
Sec. 26-12. Punitive action. No punitive
action including out of
school suspensions, expulsions or court action, shall be
taken against
chronic truants for such truancy unless available supportive
services
and other school resources have been provided to the student.
(Source: P.A. 85-234.)
(105 ILCS 5/26-13)
Sec. 26-13. Absenteeism and truancy
policies. School districts
shall adopt policies, consistent with rules adopted by
the State Board
of Education, which identify the appropriate supportive
services and
available resources which are provided for truants and chronic truants.
(Source: P.A. 84-1420.)
(105 ILCS 5/26-14)
Sec. 26-14. Truancy programs for dropouts.
Any dropout, as defined
in Section 26-2a, whose age is 16 or greater, but less than 18 years
of
age, may apply to a school district for
status as a truant, and the
school district shall permit such person
to participate in the
district's various programs and resources for truants.
At the time of
the person's application, the district may request documentation of
his
dropout status for the previous 6 months.
(Source: P.A. 85-629.)
(105 ILCS 5/26-15)
Sec. 26-15. Truant minors. When
a regional superintendent has
reason to believe that a pupil is a truant minor as defined
in Section
26-2a, the regional superintendent may report such
pupil under the
provisions of the Juvenile Court Act.
(Source: P.A. 85-1209.)
Juvenile Court Act of 1987 (705 ILCS 405/3-33)
the rest of Article III of the Illinois Juvenile
Court Act of 1987
Sec. 3-33. Truant Minor in Need of Supervision.
(a) Definition. A minor
who is reported by a
regional
superintendent of schools, or in cities of over 500,000 inhabitants,
by
the Office of Chronic Truant Adjudication, as a chronic truant shall
be
adjudged a truant minor in need of supervision.
(a-1) There is a rebuttable presumption
that a chronic truant is a
truant minor in need of supervision.
(a-2) There is a rebuttable presumption that
school records of a
minor's attendance at school are authentic.
(a-3) For purposes of this
Section, "chronic truant" has the
meaning ascribed to it in Section 26-2a of the School Code.
(b) Kinds of dispositional orders. A
minor found to be a truant
minor in need of supervision may be:
(1) committed
to the appropriate regional superintendent of
schools for a multi-disciplinary
case staffing, individualized
educational plan or service plan,
or referral to comprehensive
community-based youth services;
(2) required
to comply with an individualized educational plan
or service plan as specifically provided by the
appropriate regional
superintendent of schools;
(3) ordered
to obtain counseling or other supportive services;
(4) subject
to a fine in an amount in excess of $5, but not
exceeding $100, and each day of absence
without valid cause as
defined in Section 26-2a of The School Code is a
separate offense;
(5) required
to perform some reasonable public service work
such as, but not limited to, the picking up
of litter in public
parks or along public highways
or the maintenance of public
facilities; or
(6) subject
to having his or her driver's license or driving
privilege suspended for a period of time as determined
by the court
but only until he or she attains 18 years of age.
A dispositional order may
include a fine, public service, or
suspension of a driver's license or privilege only if the court has
made
an express written finding that a truancy prevention program
has been
offered by the school, regional superintendent
of schools, or a
community social service agency to the
truant minor in need of
supervision.
(c) Orders entered under this
Section may be enforced by contempt
proceedings.
(Source: P.A. 90-143, eff. 7-23-97; 90-380, eff. 8-14-97; 90-590,
eff.
1-1-99; 90-655, eff. 7-30-98.)
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