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Panel backs AB 461 to remove criminal penalties for truancy and shift to support services
Summary
AB 461 moved out of committee after proponents argued the bill replaces punitive criminal responses to kindergarten–eighth grade truancy with supportive, noncriminal interventions; committee debate centered on concerns about maintaining incentives for attendance.
Assemblymember Aarons presented AB 461 to eliminate criminal penalties for parents or students in kindergarten through eighth grade who fail to ensure regular school attendance and to require supportive, noncriminal responses instead.
The author said current law allows misdemeanor charges punishable by up to $2,000 in fines and up to one year in county jail, and that CalWORKs participants can face sanctions when children are deemed chronically truant, worsening poverty. Aarons said the bill…
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