September 4 - Waco Tribune-Herald
announces the
curfew plan and states that the City Council may
vote to approve the ordinance on Sept 18.
September 6 - 1st curfew public forum (Waco
High
School) - A handful of home school parents
attended.
September 10 - 2nd curfew public forum
(Cesar
Chavez Middle School) - About 13 home school
parents and students attended. After experiencing the
shocking presentation of the curfew details, a few
home school parents begin e-mail and telephone
campaigns in earnest to mobilize home school
opposition.
September 12 - 3rd curfew public forum (West
Avenue
Elementary School) - About 40 home school parents
attended. City Councilman Allen is in attendance and
announces that, due to increasing protests from
home school community, City Council will not vote on
the ordinance Sept 18.
September 18 - Waco City Council Work
Session at 3
p.m. - Task force leader Robin McDurham outlines
proposal listing:
1. Increasing school attendance
2. Enhancing student safety and
3. Sending a "message of support" to public schools
as the reasons that her task force is recommending a
curfew.
Approximately 70 home school parents, students,
relatives, and 1 or 2 business owners attend the 6
p.m. City Council meeting. During the open public
hearing session, 11 adults and 9 students (ages 6-
14) addressed the Mayor and the Council explaining
many of the flaws with the proposed Daytime Curfew
Ordinance. See more
information about the meeting.
Talking points against the proposed Waco
daytime curfew:
1. The proponents of the ordinance are
seeking the ordinance to circumvent the Texas truancy
statutes. They have been clear in their purpose of
using the ordinance to enforce the compulsory
attendance laws of Texas. - "Everyone on the task
force believes it is important for students to be in
school, and we need to support that in any way that we
can," - Robin McDurham.
2. The Texas Statute which allows cities
to adopt daytime curfews states the reason for doing
so only for public safety reasons. [§ 341.905.
JUVENILE CURFEW IN GENERAL-LAW
MUNICIPALITY. (a) To provide for the public safety, the
governing body of a general-law municipality has the
same authority to adopt a juvenile curfew ordinance
that a county has under Section 351.903.] The city of
Waco has not demonstrated that there is a crime
issue or safety problem that will be addressed by the
daytime curfew but is focusing on school attendance.
"Curfew proponents have said it would help boost
school attendance, ensure safety and send a
message that the city is doing something to support
the efforts of public schools". - Waco Tribune
3. The proponents of the daytime curfew
plan a program requiring the detaining of students,
which is not allowed under Texas Compulsory
attendance statute. [TEC §25.091] "Once a
student is found to be in violation of the ordinance, he
or she would be taken to a processing center" -
Waco Tribune
4. Proponents of the daytime curfew want
police to enforce the compulsory attendance laws by
detaining a student without the due process of state
law. "McDurham said the curfew task force will
have to re-evaluate whether they want to retain the
warning provision or remove it so police can have a
more immediate ability to return violators to school.
"It
was really our hope to have a warning and then a
citation," she said. "The council will make that
decision, but we don't like the idea of a kid getting a
warning (who) is supposed to be in school and still
left in the street. That is the dilemma." - Robin
McDurham
5. Home school students have been
stopped in the past by Waco police officers and
harassed without a daytime curfew.
Giving new authority to police officers will lead to
further such problems and could lead to more
litigation against the city.
6. Students from as many as two dozen
school districts around the city of Waco could be
impacted by this ordinance as they go about their
legitimate daytime activities.
7. Current truancy statutes already give
police the right to question students regarding school
attendance and to serve as an attendance officer but
not take custody of a child without the parents'
permission. [TEC §25.091] City Attorney Art
Pertile said state truancy laws already give police
officers the right to question why students are not in
school. But the new ordinance would allow officers to
return students to campus immediately when they are
found in violation, he said. - Waco
Tribune
ACTION AGAINST PROPOSED DAYTIME
CURFEW:
1. Call Mayor DuPuy and your city
councilman
to register your opposition, based on the points above.
254-750-5600
2. Write letters to the editor of the Waco
Tribune-Herald articulating opposition to the
daytime curfew,
based on the points above.
3. If you or home school students you know
have been stopped by the police in Waco, let the city
council, the mayor, and the Waco Tribune-Herald
know about the circumstances and how those
kinds of things will likely increase with a daytime
curfew.
4. Contact your state representative and
state senator and let them know that you oppose the
city of Waco using the daytime curfew to circumvent
the due process of the Texas compulsory attendance
laws and ask them to intervene with city officials to
stop this effort.
For more information and updates on the Waco
Daytime Curfew Proposal contact Mike Rhodes at
91rhodesfam@hot.rr.com.
