Delinquency Problems and Policies - A View From Minnesota Schools (From Changing Boundaries of the Juvenile Court, Appendix C, P 51-63, 1982, by Lee Ann Osbun et al - See NCJ-83621)

• NCJ Number: 83623
• Author(s): L A Osbun; P A Rode
• Date Published: 1982
• Length: 11 pages
• Corporate Author: Minnesota State Supreme Court
• Sale Source: National Institute of Justice/
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

A survey of Minnesota school officials indicates the range of definitions and policies for truancy and disciplinary problems currently used in the schools and provides suggestions from school officials for improving the way in which truancy and other delinquent behaviors are handled by the schools and courts.

Abstract

A two-page questionnaire containing both multiple-response and open-ended questions was mailed by the Minnesota Association of Secondary School Principals to its membership of about 1,100. A total of 260 responses were received from 77 of the State's 87 counties. Results document previous impressions of extreme variability in the definitions of truancy used by schools throughout the State. Similar disparity exists in school policies for determining when truants should be referred to the juvenile court. If consistency is considered to be an essential element of equitable treatment, then the adoption of a statewide definition of truancy and statewide standards for school referral of truants to the courts should be given priority. Suggestions for improving court effectiveness in such cases included (1) the imposition of more severe sanctions to impress juveniles with the seriousness of their behavior and (2) an increase in parental involvement in and legal responsibility for the delinquent actions of their children. While lowering the compulsory school attendance age is favored by a high percentage of metropolitan respondents, it is opposed by a high percentage of outstate respondents. A statutory provision specifying conditions under which the court could waive the compulsory attendance requirement for certain juveniles should be considered. Tabular data are provided on the enrollment size of responding schools, identification of the most serious disciplinary problems, number of cases referred to the court, evaluation of court effectiveness, opinion on appropriate jurisdiction for status offenders, and opinion on lowering the compulsory attendance age.