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HOUSE JOINT MEMORIAL 40

TH LEGISLATURE

- STATE OF NEW MEXICO -

FIRST SESSION

, 2007

INTRODUCED BY

Thomas E. Swisstack

A JOINT MEMORIAL

REQUESTING THAT THE CHILDREN, YOUTH AND FAMILIES AND PUBLIC

EDUCATION DEPARTMENTS STUDY THE SUBJECT OF TRUANCY AND

DELINQUENCY NOTICES.

WHEREAS, the Children's Code and the Compulsory School

Attendance Law in the Public School Code should be consistent

in addressing truancy issues in the public schools and of

individual students; and

WHEREAS, both school districts and the courts report

difficulty in enforcing truancy rules because of

inconsistencies between the provisions of these laws; and

WHEREAS, a work group formed during the 2003 interim by

the legislative education study committee found that the

provisions of the Children's Code are seldom applied because of

certain mitigating factors, among them: limited resources;

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delays in the schedule of interventions; permissive language;

and unclear lines of responsibility; and

WHEREAS, the Children's Code requires that the children,

youth and families department, the public education department

and the department of health coordinate services for families

and their children; and

WHEREAS, studies report that truancy may be the beginning

of a lifetime of problems for students who routinely skip

school; that habitually truant students eventually drop out of

school and set themselves up for a life of struggle by reducing

their ability to become productive citizens; and that high

truancy rates are linked to increased burglary, vandalism and

substance abuse rates; and

WHEREAS, there have been instances in which a juvenile

charged with a serious crime, as cited in a delinquency

petition, has been enrolled in a public school without the

school personnel's knowledge of the charges against the

juvenile; and

WHEREAS, in some cases these students may pose a threat to

other students or to school personnel; and

WHEREAS, if school personnel were informed of the

circumstances, they might be able to provide assistance to the

accused student and to take additional measures to ensure that

another student or staff member does not become the victim of

an assault or other serious crime; and

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WHEREAS, the Children�s Code and the federal Family

Educational Rights and Privacy Act restrict the dissemination

of information about juveniles even though delinquency

petitions are public records open to public inspection at the

court of jurisdiction; and

WHEREAS, all persons, including juveniles, charged with

serious crimes are presumed innocent until proven guilty; and

WHEREAS, the constitution of New Mexico requires that a

"uniform system of free public schools sufficient for the

education of, and open to, all the children of school age in

the state shall be established and maintained";

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE

STATE OF NEW MEXICO that the children, youth and families

department and the public education department, in consultation

with the office of the attorney general and with

representatives of public school districts, private schools,

district attorneys, law enforcement agencies and other

appropriate entities, study truancy and the issues surrounding

the timely notification of public and private schools when a

student is the subject of a delinquency petition; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the study include a review of

actions that school personnel may take upon receipt of a

delinquency petition to assist the student and to discourage

truancy; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the study include a

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comprehensive review of the intervention and enforcement

provisions in both the Compulsory School Attendance Law and the

Children's Code and that the children, youth and families

department and the public education department report their

findings and recommendations for legislation to reconcile the

inconsistencies in provisions in law dealing with truancy to

the legislative education study committee no later than

November 1, 2007; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be

transmitted to the secretary of children, youth and families,

the secretary of public education, the attorney general and the

director of the legislative education study committee for

appropriate distribution.

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