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SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- Truancy officers could start going after parents who refuse to send their children to school under a new bill heading to the House for debate.
The bill would charge the parents of truant children with a class B misdemeanor if they don't respond to a written notice of their child's absence.
The measure, sponsored by Republican Representative Eric Hutchings of Kearns, received a unanimous favorable recommendation from the House Education Committee today.
The bill would call for schools to notify parents after five absences. The notice would tell parents to meet with the school to form a plan get the child to attend. After 10 absences, the student would be considered truant. Currently, the threshold for truancy is eight days.
Hutchings says the object would be to find those parents who refuse to help with truancy problems and take it to the courts if necessary.
(Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
