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A JOINT MEMORIAL
REQUESTING THAT THE CHILDREN, YOUTH AND FAMILIES AND PUBLIC
EDUCATION DEPARTMENTS STUDY THE SUBJECT OF TRUANCY AND
DELINQUENCY NOTICES.
WHEREAS, the Children's Code and the Compulsory School
Attendance Law in the Public School Code should be consistent
in addressing truancy issues in the public schools and of
individual students; and
WHEREAS, both school districts and the courts report
difficulty in enforcing truancy rules because of
inconsistencies between the provisions of these laws; and
WHEREAS, a work group formed during the 2003 interim by
the legislative education study committee found that the
provisions of the Children's Code are seldom applied because
of certain mitigating factors, among them: limited resources;
delays in the schedule of interventions; permissive language;
and unclear lines of responsibility; and
WHEREAS, the Children's Code requires that the children,
youth and families department, the public education department
and the department of health coordinate services for families
and their children; and
WHEREAS, studies report that truancy may be the
beginning of a lifetime of problems for students who routinely
skip school; that habitually truant students eventually drop
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out of school and set themselves up for a life of struggle by
reducing their ability to become productive citizens; and that
high truancy rates are linked to increased burglary, vandalism
and substance abuse rates; and
WHEREAS, there have been instances in which a juvenile
charged with a serious crime, as cited in a delinquency
petition, has been enrolled in a public school without the
school personnel's knowledge of the charges against the
juvenile; and
WHEREAS, in some cases these students may pose a threat
to other students or to school personnel; and
WHEREAS, if school personnel were informed of the
circumstances, they might be able to provide assistance to the
accused student and to take additional measures to ensure that
another student or staff member does not become the victim of
an assault or other serious crime; and
WHEREAS, the Children’s Code and the federal Family
Educational Rights and Privacy Act restrict the dissemination
of information about juveniles even though delinquency
petitions are public records open to public inspection at the
court of jurisdiction; and
WHEREAS, all persons, including juveniles, charged with
serious crimes are presumed innocent until proven guilty; and
WHEREAS, the constitution of New Mexico requires that a
"uniform system of free public schools sufficient for the
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education of, and open to, all the children of school age in
the state shall be established and maintained";
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE
STATE OF NEW MEXICO that the children, youth and families
department and the public education department, in
consultation with the office of the attorney general and with
representatives of public school districts, private schools,
district attorneys, law enforcement agencies and other
appropriate entities, study truancy and the issues surrounding
the timely notification of public and private schools when a
student is the subject of a delinquency petition; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the study include a review
of actions that school personnel may take upon receipt of a
delinquency petition to assist the student and to discourage
truancy; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the study include a
comprehensive review of the intervention and enforcement
provisions in both the Compulsory School Attendance Law and
the Children's Code and that the children, youth and families
department and the public education department report their
findings and recommendations for legislation to reconcile the
inconsistencies in provisions in law dealing with truancy to
the legislative education study committee no later than
November 1, 2007; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be
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transmitted to the secretary of children, youth and families,
the secretary of public education, the attorney general and
the director of the legislative education study committee for
appropriate distribution.