5 February 2021
Senator Lathrop, Chairperson
Senator Brandt
Senator DeBoer
Senator Geist
Senator McKinney
Senator Morfeld
Senator Pansing Brooks
Senator Slama
Chairperson Lathrop and Members of the Judiciary Committee,
The Lincoln Public School District submits this letter in a neutral position to LB 568. We request that this letter be made part of the public record. We appreciate the openness with which Senator Pansing Brooks was willing to work with stakeholders to incorporate their different perspectives into the introduced copy of this bill. We embrace many of the changes, especially the transition from the concept of “truancy” to the concept of “excessive absences.” Written in its current form, we are unsure whether or not public schools will be able to collaborate with the county attorneys to provide student oversight, funding and programs to assist families and students in overcoming the barriers that interfere with their school attendance.
The key element of concern is the change in this definition for who is eligible for referral to the county attorney/probation supervision and access to their programming:
[Page 7, lines 26-31 and Page 8, lines 1-4]
[Any juvenile] (b) Who (i)who, untilJuly 1, 2017, by reason of being wayward or habitually disobedient, is uncontrolled by his or her parent, guardian, or custodian; who deports himself or herself so as to injure or endanger seriously the morals or health of himself, herself, or others; or who is habitually truant from home or school or (ii) who, beginningJuly 1, 2017,is eleven years of age or older and, by reason of being wayward or habitually disobedient, is uncontrolled by his or her parent, guardian, or custodian; who deports himself or herself so as to injure or endanger seriously the morals or health of himself, herself, or others; or who is habitually truant from home;or school, or…..
You will receive testimony from at least one of our partners who expresses the belief that the language of the bill still allows our current method of referral to and collaboration with the county attorney and keeps available to them the probation and diversion services and programs.
On the other hand, another of our partners is submitting testimony in opposition because they interpret the bill to clearly state that authority of the county attorney and county probation to provide oversight of students and services to families has been stripped away.
We hope to continue to work with our partners and Senator Pansing Brooks to clarify the language to ensure access to these services for our families who have children facing issues that create barriers to school attendance. Lincoln Public Schools, in working with the Lancaster County Attorney Office, social workers, building administrators, counselors, teachers and other community organizations has provided wrap-around services for students suffering from issues that result in excessive absences. Often, the county attorney is the one entity that can assist a high school student to attend support programs long enough to find value in it and stay engaged with it. The work that the county attorney does provides resources and support for the students to promote attendance in school, and it is not designed nor does it generally lead to involvement in the judicial system.
Sincerely,
John P. Neal
Assistant Superintendent for Governmental Relations and General Administration
