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House approves bill letting juvenile judges suspend student driving for truancy
Summary
The Tennessee House passed Senate Bill 2201 on final consideration; sponsor Representative Jones said the bill allows juvenile judges to suspend a student's driving privileges for up to one year if adjudicated for unlawful absence, while opponents warned of family hardship.
The House on final consideration approved Senate Bill 2201, a measure the sponsor said would give juvenile judges explicit authority to suspend a student's driving privileges for up to one year if the student is adjudicated for unlawful absence from school.
"What this bill does is if a student has been referred to juvenile court for being unlawful, absent from school, and is adjudicated, then the juvenile judge may include the suspension of students driving loss driving privileges or put on hold for them getting their driver's license for a period of up to 1 year," Representative Jones said during floor remarks. The sponsor moved final passage and renewed the motion.
Members questioned how broadly the sanction would be applied. Representative Johnson said she could not support the measure, raising examples of students who miss school for family reasons and warning that a license suspension "puts a serious hardship in the family." She asked whether judges would reliably take family circumstances into account; the sponsor replied the provision is permissive and left to judicial discretion.
The Speaker declared the bill passed on final consideration. The passage was recorded by the roll and the motion to reconsider was tabled. No individual roll-call vote tally by member is reported in the transcript.
