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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 ‘‘shifts the focus from punishment to partnership, ensuring families receive the assistance they need rather than facing penalties that deepen their struggles.’’
Witnesses who spoke in support included Yesenia Jimenez (End Child Poverty California) and Claudia Gonzalez (Vera Institute for Justice). Gonzalez described personal experience with school discipline and the ‘‘school-to-prison pipeline,’’ saying her own trauma and absence led to incarceration under existing practices and arguing such approaches harm students and families.
Committee members praised the bill’s goals but raised practical concerns. Senator Press and others noted immigration-related fears and school staffing realities; Vice Chair Joebel argued that compulsory attendance laws give school districts ‘‘teeth’’ to ensure attendance and worried removing criminal penalties could weaken enforcement and the incentives that tie attendance to school funding. Committee members also noted sparse data on how often criminal penalties are actually pursued, with one senator saying prosecutions are ‘‘incredibly rare.’’
Senator Becker moved the bill; the roll call recorded Adeghin (aye), Achobog (no), Becker (aye), Perez (aye). The motion to pass AB 461 to Public Safety carried, and the item was kept on call for the committee record.
Supporters framed the bill as prioritizing early intervention and addressing root causes of absenteeism—poverty, trauma, bullying and fear of deportation—rather than criminal sanctions.
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