Committee forwards amended truancy ordinance to council after weeks of debate; 3–2 vote

After extensive public testimony and extended committee debate, Appleton’s Safety & Licensing Committee voted 3–2 on Wednesday to forward an amended resolution (R325) establishing a temporary truancy ordinance to the full City Council.

The amended resolution includes language intended to limit use of the ordinance and to add reporting requirements and operational expectations from the Appleton Area School District (AASD). Representatives from AASD — including Superintendent Hartshus, district attendance coordinator Stephanie Marta and others — told the committee the district would add annual operational expectations and is prepared to provide aggregated, non-identifiable data rather than individually identifiable student records. District staff also explained that certain dispositions the court can order (including formal or informal supervision under Wisconsin Statute ch. 938.34) are useful because they can link families with county youth-and-family services and other supports.

Committee debate focused on balancing supportive services with the risk of punitive outcomes. The committee adopted an amendment that narrows the list of allowable court dispositions under the ordinance to subsections b, d, e, g, h and j of the relevant state statute (these include supervised work/counseling/community service, education program attendance, revocation of a work permit in some cases, orders to attend school, monetary forfeiture up to statutory limits, and formal/informal supervision for up to one year). The committee also added a set of requested data points for the district to report to the clerk’s office (for example: number of truancy citations issued in the past semester; number of citations subsequently expunged due to student compliance; convictions and dispositions from prior semesters; updated absentee and truancy statistics for the prior semester). The district told the committee it cannot provide individually identifiable records due to state and federal student-privacy laws but will provide aggregate statistics and a procedural checklist to the SRO when a referral is made.

Committee members also discussed capacity safeguards. Superintendent Hartshus and district staff told the committee the district commits to maintaining referral levels that do not exceed the capacity of Outagamie County Circuit Court or city staff; earlier briefings indicated the parties were discussing a referral range of roughly 30–40 students as a practical upper limit. Committee members said the ordinance would be treated as a last-resort tool after a flow of district supports and interventions.

After debate the committee voted 3–2 to send the amended resolution to the City Council; the committee’s vote is a recommendation and the council will consider final adoption. Committee members noted the ordinance can be repealed or revised by subsequent council action if reporting, oversight or outcomes do not meet expectations.

Votes at a glance - Motion: Forward amended temporary truancy ordinance (resolution R325) to City Council with specified dispositions (b, d, e, g, h, j) and reporting requirements; include operational expectations adopted by AASD and capacity safeguard language. - Outcome: Recommended to City Council (3–2)

What’s next: The resolution will be considered at the next City Council meeting. District and city staff said they will provide the aggregate statistics and procedural checklists described to the clerk’s office and to the School Resource Officer (SRO) in cases referred to the city.