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Subject: Truancy
Awareness and Prevention Program (TAPP) |
Series Number
Change 305 02
A1 Effective
Date November 18, 1994
Revision
Date * |
The purpose of this
order is to establish policy and procedures
for members of the
department with regard to the Truancy
Awareness and
Prevention Program (TAPP) in the District of
Columbia. This order
consists of the following parts:
PART I Responsibilities and Procedures for Members
of the Department
A. Definitions.
B. Student Identification Cards.
C. Hours of Truancy Enforcement.
D. Initiating the Truancy Investigation.
E. D.C. Public School’s Student Attendance
Service Centers (SAS).
F. Students Attending Private Schools.
G. Students from Other Jurisdictions
H. Students Who Have Been Suspended From Public
School.
I. Students In Transit Between Schools.
J. Identification and Handling of Habitual
Truants.
PART II Responsibility
and Procedures for Special Assignment Personnel.
PART III Responsibility
and Procedures for Supervisory and Command Personnel.
A. District Commanders
B. Commander, Youth and Family Services
Division.
PART I
A. Definitions.
1. Truant Student - Any student of compulsory
school age (five through seventeen) who is absent from school without
permission of his/her parent, guardian, or legal custodian.
2. Habitual Truant Any student of compulsory
school age, identified by a D.C. Public School Student Attendance Counselor or
by the Metropolitan Police Department, who has been absent from school without
permission for a period of ten (10) days within any school month.
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3. Person in Need of Supervision (PINS) - Any
child who is subject to compulsory school attendance and is habitually truant
from school without justification and has committed an offense committable only
by children, or who is habitually disobedient of the reasonable and lawful
commands of his/her parents, guardian, or other custodian and is ungovernable.
4. Truancy Awareness and Prevention Program
(TAPP) -
A
program designed for city-wide implementation and coordination
of
efforts between the Metropolitan Police Department, D.C.
Public
School System, D.C. Superior Court-Family Division and
D.C.
Department of Human Services, to reduce truancy.
5. D.C. Public School Student Attendance Service
Centers (SAS) - Centers established by the D.C. Board of Education to monitor
student attendance in all city schools. In addition, SAS Centers assist in
efforts to counsel and correct behavior of students who have attendance
problems.
B. Student Identification Cards.
1. All secondary school (junior and senior high
school) students enrolled in D.C. Public Schools have been issued
identification cards by the D.C. Board of Education (Attachment B) and are
required to carry them during school hours.
2. Members conducting truancy enforcement stops
may ask students to present their student identification cards, to verify the
students identity and school where enrolled.
C. Hours of Truancy Enforcement.
1. Police truancy enforcement shall begin at
0930 and terminate at 1400 hours each school day.
2. All D.C. Public Schools have closed campuses
during lunch periods, therefore, truancy enforcement shall not be
suspended during school lunch periods. Students discovered of f— campus during
lunch periods are truant.
D. Initiating the Truancy Investigation.
1. It is the responsibility of all uniformed
members on patrol to enforce the truancy laws.
2.
A member
who observes a juvenile of apparent compulsory school attendance age on public
space or in a public place unaccompanied by an adult having a custodial right
or lawful interest in the child during periods when the public schools are in
session, shall adhere to the following procedures:
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a. The member shall initiate a “stop” of the
juvenile as outlined in General Order 304.10 (Police-Citizen Contacts, Stops
and Frisks), in order to determine if the child is truant.
b. The member initiating the stop shall also
make a WALES inquiry to determine if the juvenile is wanted on an outstanding
custody order, or the subject of a missing person report.
3. Any juvenile who is stopped and questioned on
suspicion of truancy shall be asked to present an official document authorizing
his/her absence from school.
4. A juvenile unable to provide an official
document verifying an authorized absence from school shall be handled in the
following manner:
a. If the juvenile is enrolled in an elementary
school within the patrol district of the initiating officer, the juvenile shall
be taken directly back to his/her school.
b. If the juvenile is enrolled in an elementary
school outside of the patrol district of the initiating officer, the juvenile
shall be taken to the closest SAS Center.
c. Juveniles enrolled in junior or senior high
schools, shall be taken directly to the nearest SAS Center.
5. A PD Form 379-T (Truancy Report) shall be
prepared in the following circumstances by the apprehending officer and
submitted through channels, by the end of the member’s tour of duty, to the
Youth and Family Services Division.
a. Truant
students returned to D.C. Public Schools or taken to SAS Centers.
b. Truant
students returned to private schools in the District of Columbia when the
schools are in regular session.
c. All
juveniles of compulsory school attendance age arrested for violations of the
law during a time when those juveniles were truant from school.
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6.
A truant may be frisked for concealed weapons or other dangerous instruments
when reasonable suspicion exist as outlined in General Order 304.10
(Police-Citizen Contacts, Stops and Frisks), Part IC; however, if he/she has
only been stopped for truancy, the juvenile shall not be subjected to a full
field search. If concealed weapons or other illegal contraband is discovered
during a lawful frisk, appropriate police action is required.
7. As a general rule, a truant shall not be
handcuffed unless the juvenile becomes violent during the course of a truancy
enforcement investigation.
8. A truant who becomes violent during a truancy
investigation shall be transported to and charged with the appropriate
violation of the
law
(e.g., assault on a police officer, destruction of property, etc.).
9. Truants shall not be transported in a patrol
wagon unless there is no other transport vehicle available.
E. D.C. Public School Student Attendance
Service Centers (SAS).
1. A truant who is apprehended within the
District of Columbia shall be transported to the appropriate SAS Center and
released to a SAS Center Representative/Counselor, except for those juveniles
who shall be returned directly to their school as indicated in Part ID4a.
2. The member responsible for transporting a
truant to the SAS Center shall make an entry in the logbook maintained at each
center.
3. A truant who is apprehended in an area not
served by a SAS Center or the center is not in operation shall be transported
to his/her respective school and released to the principal or other person in a
position of authority.
F. Students Attending Private Schools.
1. A member initiating a truancy enforcement
stop of a juvenile of compulsory school attendance age who claims to be
enrolled in a private school shall attempt to ascertain if the private school
is in session.
2. The member initiating the truancy enforcement
stop shall prepare a PD Form 76 (Stop or Contact Report)and release the student
when the private school is not in regular session and there are no other valid
reasons to detain him/her. The P.D. Form 76 shall be submitted to his/her
supervisor at the conclusion of the member’s tour of duty.
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G. Students from Other Jurisdictions.
1. Students who attend schools outside the
District of Columbia shall not be returned to their respective schools by
members of this department, nor shall they be released to other law enforcement
agencies for the purpose of returning them to schools outside the District of
Columbia.
2. A PD Form 379-C (Juvenile Incident Report)
shall be prepared and the juvenile shall be released, provided that there are
no other reasons to detain the juvenile. The PD Form 379-C shall be submitted
to a supervisory official by the end of the member’s tour of duty and forwarded
to the Youth and Family Services Division Truancy Coordinator by the next
business day.
H. Students Who Have Been Suspended From
Public School.
1. When a member initiates a truancy stop of a
student who states that he/she has been suspended from public school, the
member shall attempt to verify the suspension during the initial stop (e.g.,
school documents, telephone verification).
2. A student shall be transported to the
appropriate SAS Center when his/her
suspension from school cannot be verified at the time of the initial stop.
3. The member initiating the truancy enforcement
stop shall prepare a PD Form 379-C and release the student, provided that there
are no other valid reasons to detain him/her. The completed PD Form 379-C shall
be submitted to a supervisory official by the end of the member’s tour of duty
and forwarded to the Youth and Family Services Division Truancy Coordinator on
the next business day.
I. Students In Transit Between Schools.
1. Students who are required to travel from one
school to another will only have their primary school registration information
imprinted on their student identification cards.
2. A member initiating a truancy enforcement
stop of a student allegedly in transit between schools may require the student
to produce documentation from their secondary school, or telephonically verify
the student’s status, by contacting the primary or secondary school.
3.
The
member initiating the truancy enforcement stop, who cannot verify that a
student is legitimately in transit between schools by official documentation or
telephone verification, shall arrange to have the student transported to the
appropriate SAS Center.
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4. The member initiating the truancy enforcement
stop shall prepare a PD Form 379-C and release the student when it is verified
that the student was legitimately in transit between schools and there are no
other valid reasons to detain him/her. The completed PD Form 379-C shall be
submitted to a supervisory official at the end of the member’s tour of duty and
forwarded to the Youth and Family Services Division Truancy Coordinator on the
next business day.
J. IDENTIFICATION AND HANDLING OF HABITUAL
TRUANTS
1. Once a student has been identified as a
habitual truant, the department and the D.C. Public Schools will coordinate
future truancy prevention efforts involving the student.
2. The SAS Center Counselor will advise the
Youth and Family Services Truancy Coordinator of the need for a truancy
hearing. The time and date for the truancy hearing shall be agreed upon by the
SAS Center Counselor and the Youth and Family Services Division Truancy
Coordinator.
3. The primary objective of a truancy hearing is
to formally notify the parents of children who have been consistently absent
from school. The secondary objective shall be to advise the parents of their
obligation pursuant to D.C. Law 8-247 (The District of Columbia Compulsory
School Attendance Amendment Act of 1990) in order to ensure that their children
receive school instruction regularly.
4. A representative from the following agencies
shall participate in all truancy hearings:
a. The
Metropolitan Police Department, Youth and Family Services Division.
b. The
D.C. Department of Human Services.
c. The
D.C. Public School System, Attendance Branch.
5. At the conclusion of a truancy hearing, the
juvenile may be referred to the PINS Center, Early Intervention Program or
other juvenile services.
Part II Youth and Family Services Division
Truancy Coordinator shall:
1. Be
responsible for coordinating the Truancy Awareness and Prevention Program
within the Metropolitan Police Department.
2. Act
as liaison with the Director, School Attendance Branch, D.C. Public Schools.
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3. Establish,
maintain and monitor the MPDC transporting officer logbook in each School
Attendance Service Center.
4. Establish
and maintain a master file on all identified truants in the District of
Columbia.
5. Prepare
PD Form 380 - (Notification to Parent/Guardian re: Truancy.)
6. Act
as liaison between SAS Center Representatives, the District of Columbia
Superior Court-Family Division, and the Department of Human Services.
7. Prepare
a statistical report each month detailing by district the total number of
youths apprehended for truancy by members of this department. A copy of each
monthly report shall be distributed as follows:
a. Office
of the Chief of Police, Patrol Services Officer, Commander Patrol Division,
Commander Youth and Family Services Division, Commander Special Operations
Division, Commander of each Patrol District.
b. Director,
School Attendance Branch, D.C. Public Schools.
8. Adhere
to the following procedures when conducting a truancy hearing:
a. Coordinate
each truancy hearing and ensure the attendance of the student, his/her
parent/guardian, representatives from the Department of Human Services, D.C.
Superior Court-Family Division and the D.C. Public Schools Attendance Branch.
b. Ensure
that a copy of the school attendance record of the habitual truant and any
previously documented efforts to eliminate the truancy problem are provided for
each truancy hearing by the SAS Center Representative.
c. Refer
any habitual truant to the PINS Center, Early Intervention Program or other
juvenile service after consultation and at the conclusion of a truancy hearing,
if appropriate.
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Part III
A. Commanding Officers. Police Districts
Commanding officers shall:
1. Ensure
that all sworn members of their command are made aware of the policy and
provisions of the Truancy Awareness and Prevention Program (TAPP) and shall
accept responsibility for truancy enforcement in their respective district.
2. Ensure that PD Forms 379-T and all PD Forms
379-C
completed during truancy stops, are forwarded to the Youth and Family Services
Division on the next business day following their completion.
B. Commanding Officer. Youth and Family
Services Division shall:
1. Oversee
the operation of the city-wide Truancy Awareness and Prevention Program (TAPP).
2. Designate
a member to coordinate department-wide truancy prevention efforts and act as a
liaison between the Youth and Family Services Division, the D.C. Superior Court
Family Division, the D.C. Public School Representatives and the Department of
Human Services. The member assigned these duties shall carry the title of Youth
and Family Services Division Truancy Coordinator.
3. Ensure
that a MPDC transporting officer logbook is maintained and monitored in each
School Attendance Service Center.
THIS GENERAL
ORDER COMPLIES WITH THE PROVISIONS OF CALEA STANDARD 44.2.2.
The location
and service boundaries of (SAS) Centers are as follows:
Police District School
Attendance Service Center
First Penn Center 3rd
& R Streets, N.E., 1st Floor
Second Lincoln Multicultural Middle
School
16th
& Irving Streets N.W. 2nd Floor
Third Lincoln Multicultural Middle
School
Fourth Lincoln Multicultural Middle
School
Fifth Penn Center
Sixth Weather less School Burns
& C Streets, S.E.
Seventh Weatherless School
The location
and service boundaries of (SAS) Centers are as follows:
Police District
School Attendance Service Center
First Ludlow-Taylor Elementary
School 7th & G Streets N.E.
Second *
Third Bernard Elementary School 5th
& Decatur Streets N.W.
(Truants North of
Florida Avenue)
Ludlow-Taylor
Elementary School
(Truants South of
Florida Avenue)
Fourth Bernard Elementary School
Fifth Ludlow-Taylor
Elementary School
(Truants South of Rhode
Island Avenue)
Bernard Elementary
School
(Truants North of Rhode
Island Avenue)
Sixth Moten Elementary School
Morris & Elvans Roads S.E.
Seventh Moten Elementary School
*The Second District
is not covered by a SAS Center. All truants apprehended in areas not covered
by a SAS Center shall be returned to their respective school and released to
the principal or other person in a position of authority.