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Illinois students could face hefty fines for skipping class

One way cities are working to prevent truancy is by making students pay for skipping school.

It's an expensive consequence for cutting class.

For years, skipping school - or truancy (being absent without reasonable excuse) - has been illegal in Illinois. One way cities are working to prevent it is by making students who skip pay.

Last year, more than 400 students in Rock Island County were reported truant, according to Carrol Diaz and Scott Sensabaugh, Truant Officers with the Rock Island County Regional Office of Education.

"If a child is absent 5% of the school year or nine days from the school year, they are chronically truant," explained Sensabaugh.

Every city has its own ordinance, or rules to deal with truancy. In Rock Island, the ordinance states:

"Any person violating the provisions of this section as a first offense shall be subject to citation, which citation shall be paid at the police department in the amount of twenty five dollars ($25.00); if paid within seven (7) days of the date issued the amount shall be fifteen dollars ($15.00). Any second and subsequent violation of this section shall be subject to a fine of not less than fifty dollars ($50.00) nor more than five hundred dollars ($500.00). Each day during which or on which any person violates the provisions of this section shall be deemed a separate offense."

"If a child is missing 5% of the school year, they're missing out on a lot of education that they need, so it's our job to help them get to school so they can succeed," added Sensabaugh.

In the Rock Island-Milan School District, students are not fined immediately. At Rock Island High School, an Attendance Interventionist records absences and then talks to the student or reaches out to the family first.

"We believe that what we're teaching in classes is so important that they need to be there each and every day and missing even a day really matters to how they grow," said Mike Hawley, Freshman Academic Coordinator at Rock Island High School.

However, if skipping continues to be a problem, students will receive a truancy ticket - a $50 fine - each and every time they cut class.

"We want students in class, because we believe in this day and age students without a diploma suffer greatly and so we want everyone to be here," added Hawley.

The fines can only be given to students 13 years old and older. If under the age of 13, the law pertains to the parent.

"Our main priority is to try to help the parents if they need help with being referred to social service agency or they just need help getting their children to school," said Sensabaugh.

For those who continue to not follow the law, breaking it can turn into something worse.

"If a parent does not want to meet with us or if a child's attendance is not getting better, they can be referred to an Administrative Hearing which is at the [Rock Island County] Courthouse with our Regional Superintendent," explained Sensabaugh. "If the parent does not want to meet with us at the Administrative Hearing or if the attendance continues to get worse after an Administrative Hearing, that case can be sent to the State's Attorney, which could end up being a Class C Misdemeanor filed against the parent for allowing their child to be truant from school, which can be up to 30 days in jail or a $500 fine."

Money from the fines/tickets go back to the city, not the school.

The fine structure is the same in East Moline. However, it's higher in Moline:

"Any person violating Section 22-2103(a) or (b), as a first offense, shall be subject to a citation, which citation shall be paid at the City of Moline Accounts and Finance Office in the amount of fifty dollars ($50.00), or if paid within seven (7) calendar days, twenty-five dollars ($25.00). Any person violating Section 22-2103(a) or (b), as a second or subsequent offense, shall be subject to a citation, which citation shall be paid at the City of Moline Accounts and Finance Office in the amount of one hundred dollars ($100.00), or if paid within seven (7) calendar days, fifty dollars ($50.00)."

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