Cutting class will be costly in Hayward

01-11-2010

By Eric Kurhi/Oakland Tribune

Hooky soon will be a game of high stakes, as the city has made truancy an offense punishable by a fine of up to $500, levied on the guardians of the class-cutter. But police Sgt. Jeff Snell, who presented a report on the matter to the City Council last week before the board unanimously approved it, stressed that the fines are a tool of last resort. "We're talking about parents who fail to share in the responsibility of their child attending school," he said. "If a parent drops a child off, and the kid says, 'I'm out of here' and hops a fence and gets caught, (the fine) would not apply." Snell said that police prefer to guide families to counseling services that may aid in a chronic truancy problem. But if parents are not receptive to such measures, or deny they have responsibility for what their child does during the school day, they could be fined $100 for the first time their child is caught skipping class, $200 the second and $500 for each additional offense. (more...)

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Cutting class will be costly in Hayward

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