An Act Regarding Habitual Truants LR 1152(02)
Maine Legislature, Session 121, LD 1082
Committee Amendment CA_A_H634 (House)
Amends: 20-A MRSA §5051, 20-A MRSA §5053, 20-A MRSA §5053-A, 20-A MRSA §6810, 20-A MRSA §7405

COMMITTEE AMENDMENT "~,, to H.P. 800, L.D. 1082, Bill, "An 
Act Regarding Habitual Truants" 
Amend the bill by striking out everything after the enacting 
clause and before the summary and inserting in its place the 
following: 
I Sec. 1. 20·A MRSA §5001·A, sub·§2, 1fC, as amended by PL 1985, 
c. 123, §l, is further amended to read: 
C. 
A person whose absence is excused under section §G§l ... 
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5051-A; or 
Sec. 2. 20·A MRSA §5051, as amended by PL 1999, c. 198, §§l 
and 2, is repealed. 
Sec.3. 20-A MRSA §5051·A is enacted to read: 
§5051-A. 
Habitual truancy 
1. 
Habitually truant. 
A student is habitually truant if 
the student: 
A. 
Is subject to section 500l-A: and 
B. 
Has the equivalent of 10 full days of unexcused absences 
or 7 consecutive school days of unexcused absences during a 
school year. 
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2. 
Procedures. 
This subsection governs the procedure to be 
followed when a student is habitually truant. 
A. 
If a principal of a public school and the attendance 
coordinator determine that a student is habitually truant, 
the 
principal 
shall 
inform 
the 
superintendent. 
The 
superintendent or the superintendent's designee shall first 
try to correct the problem informally. 
Informal attempts to 
correct the problem must include meeting with the student 
and the student's parents to identify possible causes of the 
habitual truancy and develop a plan to implement solutions 
to the problem. 
If an initial meeting does not resolve the 
problem, 
the 
superintendent 
or 
superintendent's 
designee 
shall 
implement 
interventions 
that 
best 
address 
the 
problem. 
The interventions may include, but are not limited 
.tQ.l. 
(1) 
Freguent communication between the teacher and the 
family; 
(2) 
Changes in the learning environment; 
(3 ) 
Mentoring; 
(4) 
Student counseling; 
(5) 
Tutoring, including peer tutoring; 
(6) 
Placement into different classes; 
(7) 
Evaluation for alternative education programs; 
(8) 
Attendance contracts; 
(9) 
Referral to other agencies for family services; and 
(10) 
Other interventions, including, but not limited 
to, 
referral 
to 
the 
school 
attendance 
coordinator, 
student assistance tearn or dropout prevention committee. 
Failure of the student or the student's parents to appear at 
scheduled 
meetings 
does 
not 
preclude 
the 
school 
administrators 
from 
implementing 
a 
plan to 
address 
the 
student's habitual truancy. 
B. 
As 
part of 
correcting the 
problem 
informally, 
the 
superintendent or superintendent's designee shall reguire 
the student and the student's parents to attend one or more 
meetings 
with 
the 
student's 
teacher 
or 
other 
school 
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personnel designated by the superintendent. 
The purpose of 
the meetings is to reinforce the plan developed in paragraph 
A or 
to 
develop 
an alternative plan. 
The 
meeting 
or 
meetings may involve the presence of others, including, but 
not 
limited 
to, 
case 
managers, 
therapeutic 
treatment 
providers and representatives of the Department of Human 
Services, 
the Department of Behavioral 
and Developmental 
Services 
and 
the 
Department 
of 
Corrections. 
The 
superintendent or superintendent's designee shall arrange 
mutually convenient meeting times. 
C. 
If the superintendent or superintendent I s designee is 
unable 
to 
correct 
the 
truancy 
of 
the 
child, 
the 
superintendent or superintendent I s designee shall serve or 
cause to be served upon the parent in hand or by registered 
mail a written notice that attendance of the child at school 
is required by law. 
The notice must: 
(1) 
State that the student is required to attend 
school pursuant to section 500l-A: 
( 2 ) 
Explain 
the 
parent I s 
right 
to 
inspect 
the 
student' s attendance records, attendance coordinator's 
reports and principal's reports: 
(3) 
Explain that the failure to send the student to 
school and maintain the student in regular attendance 
is a civil violation in accordance with section 5053-A 
and explain the possible penalties; 
(4) 
State 
that 
the 
superintendent 
or 
the 
superintendent's 
designee 
may 
notify 
the 
local 
law 
enforcement department of a violation of this statute; 
.arul 
(5) 
Outline 
the 
plan 
developed 
to 
address 
the 
student's habitual truancy and the steps that have been 
taken to implement that plan. 
D. 
Prior to notifying the local law enforcement department 
under paragraph E, 
the superintendent or superintendent I s 
designee shall schedule at least one meeting as required in 
paragraph B. 
E. 
If, after 3 school days after service of the notice 
referred to in paragraph C, the student remains truant and 
the 
parent 
and 
student 
refuse 
to 
attend 
the 
meeting 
scheduled according to paragraph D, 
the superintendent or 
superintendent's designee shall report the facts of the 
unlawful absence to the local law enforcement department, 
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which may proceed with an action to enforce section 5053-A 
against the parent unless the student is at once placed in 
an appropriate school or otherwise meets the requirements 
under section 500l-A. 
F. 
When a student is determined habitually truant and in 
violation 
of 
section 
500l-A 
and 
the 
superintendent 
or 
superintendent's designee has made a good faith attempt to 
meet the requirements of paragraph Bt the superintendent or 
superintendent's designee shall notify the school board and 
the 
local 
law 
enforcement 
department 
of 
the 
student's 
truancy. 
After this notification, a local law enforcement 
officer who sees the truant student may transport the truant 
student to the appropriate school if the truant student: 
(1) 
Is off school grounds during school hours: and 
(2) 
Is not under the supervision of school personnel. 
3. 
Reports. 
This subsection applies to reports of habitual 
truancy. 
A. 
A superintendent shall submit an annual report to the 
commissioner before October 1st. 
The report must: 
(1) 
Identify the number of habi tual truants in the 
school administrative unit in the preceding school year: 
(2) 
Describe the unit's efforts to deal with habitual 
truancy; 
(3) 
Account for actions brought under this section; and 
(4) 
Include any other information on truancy requested 
by the commissioner. 
B. 
The commissioner shall submit an annual report to the 
Governor 
and 
the 
Legislature 
before 
January 
15th. 
The 
report 
must 
aggregate 
the 
information 
provided 
by 
superintendents 
under 
paragraph 
A and must evaluate 
the 
effect of state laws on the incidence of truancy. 
Sec. 4. 20-A MRSA §5053, as amended by PL 1989, c. 415, §§22 
to 25, is repealed. 
Sec. 5. 20-A MRSA §5053-A is enacted to read: 
§5053-A. EnforCement 
1. 
Civil violation. 
The parent of a child of compulsory 
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school age who fails to have the child enrolled in school, who 
fails to send the child to school or who fails to require the 
child to regularly attend school commits a civil violation for 
which a fine of not less than $25 may be adjudged. 
2. 
Dispositions. 
The 
court 
may 
also 
order 
a 
parent 
adjudicated as violating subsection 1 to take specific action to 
ensure the child's attendance at school; comply with the plan 
developed 
in 
accordance 
with 
section 
SOSI A, 
subsection 
2, 
paragraph 
Ai 
participate in 
a 
parent-training class; 
attend 
school with the child; perform community service hours at the 
school; 
or 
participate 
in 
counseling 
or 
other 
services 
as 
appropriate. 
3. 
Notice required. 
Notice must be provided to the parent 
pursuant to section SOSI-A, subsection 2, paragraph C before a 
prosecution for violating subsection 1 may be brought against the 
parent. 
4. 
Prima facie proof. 
Evidence that shows that the parent 
received the notice under section SOSI-A, subsection 2 and that 
the child has accumulated 10 absences that are not justified 
under 
the 
established 
attendance 
policies 
of 
the 
school 
administrative unit is prima facie proof that the child's parent 
failed to enroll the child in school, failed to send the child to 
school or failed to require the child to regularly attend school. 
5. 
Defense. 
It is 
a 
defense 
to 
a 
prosecution 
under 
subsection 1 that the parent has exercised reasonable diligence 
in attempting to cause a child in the parent's custody to attend 
school or that the administrators of the child's school did not 
perform their duties as required by law. 
6. 
Process. 
Service of a summons on the parent pursuant to 
subsection 1 must be in accordance with the Maine Rules of Civil 
Procedure. 
7. 
Jurisdiction. 
The District Court has jurisdiction over 
violations under subsection 1. 
Sec. 6. 20-A MRSA §6810, as enacted by PL 1981, c. 693, §§S 
and 8, is amended to read: 
§6810. Truancy 
The penalty for truancy is outlined in section 9996 SOS3-A. 
Sec. 7. 20-A MRSA §7405, sub-§l, as amended by PL 1999, c. 
775, §6, is further amended to read: 
so 
Page S-LRllS2(2) 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
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COMMITTEE AMENDMENT .~. to H.P. 800. L.D. 1082 
1. 
Enrollment. 
The 
superintendent 
of 
the 
school 
administrative unit in which a deaf or hard-of-hearing student 
resides, with the consent of that student's parent or legal 
guardian and in accordance with the limitations in section eGel 
5Q51-A, 
may enroll that student in one of the center school 
programs or the satellite school programs. 
The sums necessary 
for tuition and room and board of the student while attending one 
of the center school programs or satellite school programs, as 
determined 
by 
the 
individualized 
education 
program 
of 
the 
student, must be paid by the school board.' 
SUMMARY 
This amendment is the majority report of the Joint Standing 
Committee 
on 
Education 
and Cultural Affairs. 
The 
amendment 
strikes and replaces the bill to accomplish the following changes 
to the habitual truancy laws: 
1. 
It authorizes a superintendent to designate a 
school 
official to attempt to correct the truancy problem informally; 
2. 
It 
clarifies 
that 
the 
informal 
efforts 
by 
the 
superintendent or the superintendent's designee to correct the 
truancy problem must include meeting with the student and the 
student's parents to identify possible causes of the habitual 
truancy and developing a 
plan to implement solutions to the 
problem, 
including a 
range of interventions. 
It also permits 
school 
administrators 
to 
implement 
a 
plan 
to 
address 
the 
student's habitual truancy if the student or student's parents 
fail to appear at scheduled meetings; 
3. 
In attempting to correct the truancy problem informally, 
it also requires that the student join the student's parents in 
attending one or more meetings with the student's teacher and 
school administrators to reinforce the plan developed to correct 
the truancy or to develop an alternative plan; 
4. 
It requires school administrators to arrange meeting 
times that are mutually convenient for the parent and for school 
personnel; 
5. 
It 
permits 
school 
administrators 
to 
involve 
case 
managers, therapeutic treatment providers and representatives of 
the Department of Human Services, the Department of Behavioral 
and Developmental Services and the Department of Corrections to 
participate in the meeting or meetings scheduled to develop or 
reinforce a plan to implement solutions to the truancy problem; 
6. 
In the event that informal efforts to correct the 
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COMMITTEE AMENDMENT ,,/I, to H.P. BOO, L.D. 10B2 
truancy 
fail, 
it 
requires 
that 
the 
superintendent 
or 
the 
superintendent's designee serve a written notice to the student's 
parent in hand or by registered mail and further requires that 
this notice include an outline of the plan developed to address 
the student's habitual truancy and the steps that have been taken 
to implement the plan to correct the truancy; 
7. 
It 
clarifies 
that 
the 
superintendent 
or 
the 
superintendent's designee shall report the facts of 
a 
truant 
child's unlawful absence from school to the school board and the 
local law enforcement department; 
B. 
It 
clarifies 
that 
the 
superintendent 
or 
the 
superintendent's designee shall report a truant student to the 
local law enforcement department after 3 school days after the 
written notice has been served to the student's parent and the 
student remains in noncompliance with the compulsory attendance 
laws; and 
9. 
It establishes that a parent adjudicated for failing to 
comply with the habitual truancy laws commits a civil violation 
and is subject to a fine of at least $25. 
FISCAL NOTE REQUIRED 
(See attached) 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
Revised: 01/15/04 ~ac:.. 
Office of Fiscal and Program Review 
LD 1082 
An Act Regarding Habitual Truants 
LR 1152(02) 
Fiscal Note for Bill as Amended by Committee Amendment" " 
Education and Cultural Affairs 
Fiscal Note Required: Yes 
Majority Report 
Fiscal Note 
Minor cost increase - General Fund 
Minor revenue increase - General Fund 
Correctional and Judicial Impact Statements 
Establishes a new civil violation. 
Fiscal Detail and Notes 
This bill makes changes to the existing statutes that address the procedures that local school units must follow when 
dealing with students who are habitually truant. It does not appear that these changes will result in increased costs to 
the local school units.