CopyCited 1 times | Published | Florida 2nd District Court of Appeal | 2016 Fla. App. LEXIS 18198
...same or closely related subjects should be read in pari materia.”). Section
984.13(l)(b) is not the only statute governing truancy. Rather the legislature has set up a comprehensive statutory framework of escalating remedies for dealing with juveniles who fail to attend school. See §§
984.151,
1003.26, Fla....
...rograms,” and “[a]ttendanee contracts.” §
1003.26(l)(c)(l)-(3). The team may also implement other interventions, including “referral to other agencies for family services or recommendation for filing a truancy petition pursuant to [section]
984.151.” §
1003.26(l)(c). A truancy petition must make certain allegations, including the dates on which the child was absent from school, and be filed in the circuit in which the child is enrolled in school. See §
984.151(2), (4)....
...Following a hearing, if the circuit court determines that the child has in fact missed any of the school days alleged in the petition, the court must “order the student to attend school and the parent to ensure that the student attends school.” § 984.151(7)....
...training, or employment services. Id. If the child does not complete the court-ordered sanctions, the court must refer the case “to the case staffing committee ... with a recommendation to file a child-in-need-of-services petition under [section] 984.15.” § 984.151(8)....
CopyPublished | Florida 2nd District Court of Appeal
...d be read in
pari materia."). Section
984.13(1)(b) is not the only statute governing truancy. Rather
the legislature has set up a comprehensive statutory framework of escalating remedies
for dealing with juveniles who fail to attend school. See §§
984.151,
1003.26, Fla....
...alternative education programs," and "[a]ttendance contracts." §
1003.26(1)(c)(1)-(3).
The team may also implement other interventions, including "referral to other agencies
for family services or recommendation for filing a truancy petition pursuant to [section]
984.151." §
1003.26(1)(c).
A truancy petition must make certain allegations, including the dates on
which the child was absent from school, and be filed in the circuit in which the child is
enrolled in school. See §
984.151(2), (4)....
...Following a hearing, if the circuit court
determines that the child has in fact missed any of the school days alleged in the
petition, the court must "order the student to attend school and the parent to ensure that
the student attends school." § 984.151(7)....
...oyment
services.
Id. If the child does not complete the court-ordered sanctions, the court must refer the
case "to the case staffing committee . . . with a recommendation to file a child-in-need-
of-services petition under [section]
984.15." §
984.151(8).
Against this backdrop, we return to section
984.13(b)....
CopyPublished | Florida 2nd District Court of Appeal | 2012 WL 6720534, 2012 Fla. App. LEXIS 22150
...We are concerned that the court in Charlotte County is treating truancy court as a quasi-criminal court, in which indirect criminal contempt proceedings — initiated, prosecuted, and adjudicated by the judge — are a common form of punishment. 1 It appears that the legislature in *587 tended a truancy proceeding under section 984.151, Florida Statutes (2008), to be a rather informal, but stern, effort by the circuit court to convince a family to send its children to school. If a truancy proceeding does not succeed after a relatively short period, the statute contemplates that the state should address the continuing truancy issue by a petition for child in need of services under section 984.15. See § 984.151(8)....
...(8) If the student does not successfully complete the sanctions ordered in subsection (7), the case shall be referred to the case staffing committee under s[ection]
984.12 with a recommendation to file a child-in-need-of-services petition under s[ection]
984.15....
...*589 (9) The parent, guardian,- or legal custodian and the student shall participate, as required by court order, in any sanctions or services required by the court under this section, and the court shall enforce such participation through its contempt power. § 984.151, Fla....
...Thus, it is only natural that the hearings are informal, and the judge tends to serve in roles beyond that of a neutral arbiter. Second, the legislature inserted this new statute into chapter 984, which deals with children and families in need of services. It immediately follows section 984.15, which describes the content of a petition for a child in need of services....
...Indeed, there appear to be no rules of procedure for such courts. These cases can be delegated to a hearing officer or magistrate. In this case, Ms. Sockwell’s proceedings were conducted by a county court judge. In light of these informalities, it is' not surprising that the legislature mandated in section 984.151(8) that the trial court refer the family’s case to the case staffing committee with a recommendation to file a child-in-need-of-ser-viees petition under section 984.15 if the student does not successfully complete the ordered sanctions....
...6 Such a referral allows for the family’s care to be transferred to a circuit court judge in a juvenile division subject to the Florida Rules of Juvenile Procedure. See Fla. R. Juv. P. 8.601. Finally, similar to a dependency proceeding, we believe that the order under section 984.151(7) compelling the student to attend school and the parent to ensure that attendance is the final appeal-able order in such a proceeding....
...a review hearing. It has several standard orders, a place to check the box for some additional orders, and then an area in which to write “other orders.” At a minimum, the form makes it difficult to know what was actually ordered in the initial section 984.151(7) order and what is newly ordered in the many review orders....
...Unfortunately, the model procedures were written in criminal terminology. The child and the parent were summoned for an “arraignment.” If the child or parent admitted the contents of the petition at arraignment, then they were “sentence[d]” pursuant to section 984.151(7). Section 984.151 as quoted above does not contemplate arraignments or sentences. Truancy court was intended to be a precursor to a child-in-need-of-services proceeding. It was not a precursor to a juvenile delinquency proceeding or an adult county court criminal proceeding. 8 Section 984.151(9) requires the parent and the student to “participate ......
...e legislature authorizes the court to enforce participation through use of its contempt power. The legislature does not specify whether it intends the court to use civil or criminal contempt in this context. The sanctions and services referred to in section 984.151(9) are delineated in section 984.151(7)....
...Literature Review, Dev. Servs. Grp., 1 (Oct. 15, 2009), ht tp://www.ojjdp.gov/dso/Truancy% 20Literature% 20Review.pdf. . It does not appear that the superintendent or his delegate are ever represented by a lawyer in this process. . The placement of section
984.151 is logical, but it separates section
984.15 from section
984.16, which contains the provisions dealing with process and service of a petition under section
984.15. It does not appear that the content of section
984.16 is intended to apply in a proceeding under section
984.151....
