LAUSD students who are running late for school but are on the school property or nearby will no longer be issued citations under a more moderate truancy policy adopted by the District’s police force, the Los Angeles Daily News reported Friday.
The new policy is aimed at countering a public perception that students in low-income and minority neighborhoods are being disproportionately targeted even though many of them are merely late for school, according to the paper.
Citing students for being late results in their being even more late for class because they have to wait while Los Angeles School Police officers issue tickets, the Daily News reported, adding that the citations then force schools to miss school outright because they are required to appear in court to deal with the $250 violations.
“A memo from school police Chief Steven Zipperman also reminds officers to consider the spirit of the city's daytime curfew ordinance—to prevent truancy—before taking action and they should ask students if they have a legitimate reason for not being in school,” the paper reported. “It also states that students over 18 should not be cited.”
