Daytime Curfew Update: Summary of HEB-ISD Work Session & Bedford City Council Meeting Next Bedford City Council Meeting: January 13 @ 7P.M
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Daytime Curfew Update: Summary of HEB-ISD Work Session & Bedford City Council Meeting Next Bedford City Council Meeting: January 13 @ 7p.m. The December 16 work session presented by the HEB-ISD and Bedford Police Chief was very interesting. The police chief honestly admitted that there were no numbers to show the effectiveness or possible impact of a daytime curfew. Regardless of that fact, the council is staunchly set on preserving this ordinance. As a result, there is an effort to expand the coalition of those against the daytime curfew to bring even more public pressure to this issue. The Star-Telegram did a very balanced article about meeting that night. A link to the news story can be found here: http://www.star- telegram.com/407/story/1098234.html Essentially, the police chief sees the daytime curfew as "another tool in their tool belt" in the fight against truancy. The school district and police chief feel that the compulsory attendance statute is too cumbersome, does not offer a strong enough deterrent, and requires too many unexcused absences before a student can be appropriately punished for truant behavior. The district and police chief say that the daytime curfew will allow them to punish a child on a first-time offense - instead of the 10 required by state law - and allow for "intervention very, very early," before the child moves on to bigger crimes. The district and police chief maintain that the daytime curfew not only offers an immediate and strong deterrent, but also holds parents accountable, since the curfew stipulates a fine to the parent as well as the child. What they didn't bring up is the fact that the ordinance also carries a Class C Misdemeanor charge, per offender, which can include the child and their parent, as well as a business owner or employee if a minor is found on the premises. We should point out here that private schools, including home schools, are considered exempt from the compulsory attendance statute, which is the "tool" that is supposed to be used to enforce truancy. Daytime curfews, however, bypass that statute by making every minor out in public a potential criminal; and as seen in many other cities across Texas where these curfews have been abused, innocent families can be placed in the position of having to defend themselves in court. Circumventing the statutory compulsory attendance laws through daytime curfew ordinances is not the solution to the district's unexcused absence problem. If the school districts are of the opinion that the compulsory attendance statutes are not strong enough, the districts need to see what can be done to toughen up the current statute instead of getting cities to enact another law so that the districts can shirk their statutory responsibilities while completely bypassing the due process protections provided in the compulsory attendance statute. During the work session, the HEB-ISD representative tried to allay any fear of potential abuse of the ordinance by stating that there were only 119 homeschool students in the HEB-ISD -- not many to be concerned about. Personally, we'd love to have all 119 of you at the next council meeting! :) During the council meeting, we actually had a councilmember tell us that "homeschooling is a privilege like driving a car." Another council member, making the case for needing the daytime curfew as opposed to enforcing the statutory compulsory attendance law, stated that the state legislature only meets every other year; the coun cil meets every other week. During the Open Forum at the end of the meeting, one homeschool dad brought everything into perspective. Using the district's own numbers, he calculated that the district's truancy figures amounted to only a very small percentage. The urgent truancy problem for which the district claimed they needed immediate action, amounted to only approximately 1% of the total school days. The district offered no trend analysis that would indicate that truancy was a growing problem, no compa risons to other school districts, in fact no statistical data at all. The very thing the district was so proud to announce - the difference in truancy rates since enacting the curfew - amounted to just .1 of 1% - a statistically irrelevant figure. Essentially, the district has no basis to justify such a gross infringement of liberties. If anyone is interested in viewing the DVD of the work session or meeting, please contact us at [email protected] . Or, you can request a copy through the city's secretary at: [email protected] for $3. You might also be interested in knowing that a homeschool family informed us that Dallas police are seeking a stricter daytime curfew ordinance - one that will allow officers to bring truant children to a "lock up" rather than take them to school. This is just the natural course of this type of thing, and the reason we need to stand up for our freedoms while we can. This is the democratic process at work. It is our duty as citizens to let our elected officials know our wishes. Here's the link to the Dallas news story: http://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/Skip-School-Go-to-Jail.html Dallas is planning to discuss the issue at their Feb 2 meeting, according to the article. Next Bedford City Council Meeting: January 13 at 7:p.m. Three ways you can participate: 1. Sign up to be a "person to be heard," which means that the council responds to what you say. Send an e-mail by Noon, Wednesday, January 7th to Shanae Jennings, City Secretary of Bedford at [email protected] . Include in the email: Your first and last name, your home address, phone number, and the topic on which you wish to speak (ex. juvenile daytime curfew ordinance). You do not have to live in Bedford to speak at the meeting. 2. Speak during the Open Forum at the end of the meeting (the council will not be able to respond). No sign-up necessary. Just show up at the meeting (with your notes if you need them) and raise your hand when Council asks for speakers during the Open Forum segment. You will need to state your name and address, but you don't have to live in Bedford to speak. 3. Show your support just by attending the meeting - this is a great opportunity to fulfill the good citizenship requirement, showing our children how local government works! If your kids feel comfortable, they can speak as well. They can type up what they want to say and read it to Council from the podium. We encourage you to give your opinions from your perspective. If you need ideas, you can visit the THSC website and read the daytime curfew information that they have on their site: http://www.thsc.org/Getting_Started/DaytimeCurfew.asp Location: Bedford's City council meeting takes place at the municipal building located at 2000 Forest Ridge, Bedford, TX 76021 The building faces Forest Ridge, but the city council chambers are located in back of the building, off of L. Don Dodson. Take Forest Ridge to L. Don Dodson. Turn into the parking lot that is behind the municipal building and across from the Bedford Library. Enter through the glass doors closest to the L.Don Dodson side of the parking lot. You can either sit in the chamber, or if the chamber is full, they will pull out chairs for people to sit in the back, in the area behind the chamber. Here is a map: http://maps.google.com/maps?ie=UTF- 8&q=2000+Forest+Ridge,+Bedford,+Texas+76021&fb=1&cid=6926176565928285807& li=lmd&z=14&t=m Thank you so much, and we hope to see you there! Blessings, Anne Gebhart Regional Director HEART of Texas Home Educators Alliance for Resources and Training of Texas, Inc. P.O. Box 211882 Bedford, TX 76095-1882 email: [email protected] website: www.HEARTofTex.org P.S. If you would like to receive our bi-monthly e-newsletter, please email us at [email protected] HEART of Texas is a non-profit, 501(c)(3) regional homeschooling organization serving the home school families and support group leaders in the Greater D/FW and surrounding north Texas area. Our mission is to connect homeschooling families and support groups with resources and information. We serve as an information clearinghouse for news that is pertinent to the homeschool community, and we hold regional events, such as homeschool college nights, leadership conferences, and other events for homeschoolers within our service area. Our bi-weekly newsletter reaches approximately 40,000 homeschoolers each month. If you are interested in becoming a sponsor or business partner, please contact Anne Gebhart at [email protected] .