California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Thursday signed a bill into law that reverses measures supported by Vice President Kamala Harris that prosecuted parents for truancy.
While serving as the state’s attorney general, Harris praised the law and even used it against parents of children who were not showing up to school, an issue that has been highlighted as the 2024 presidential campaign continues.
SB-691, authored by State Sen. Anthony Portantino, modifies how school districts notify parents or guardians when their child has been classified as a truant. It also implements changes focused on improving attendance through supportive measures rather than targeting parents for prosecution.
The new law removes language related to legal penalties, including potential prosecution, and suggests that parents attend class with their children.
Under the legislation, districts sending information to parents about their child’s truancy will also include information about available mental health and supportive services for both the student and their family.
The law reinforces parents’ right to meet with school officials to discuss remedies for their children’s truancy. It also mandates that truancy notifications include information on how missing school can negatively impact a student’s academic success.
Portantino, who submitted the bill, argued that issuing threats to prosecute parents is not the best way to make sure their children attend class. “When we actually provide pertinent information and don’t try to criminalize parents, we actually get more kids in seats,” he told the San Francisco Chronicle.
This is in direct contradiction to Harris’ approach when she was California’s attorney general.
As San Francisco district attorney, Harris prosecuted some parents as part of her efforts to reduce truancy. Harris’ office sent letters to San Francisco families at the start of the school year warning that they would face consequences if their children were chronically absent. Though part of her strategy involved threatening parents with jail time, her office didn’t actually send any to jail. Students who missed a big chunk of school in early grades are never able to catch up, she said, and those who drop out in high school are more likely to become homicide victims.
In 2009, Harris touted data showing a 23% drop in truancy among San Francisco elementary school students as evidence her approach was working.
At the time, she acknowledged her efforts were controversial, but she argued truancy was a serious enough problem to merit her aggressive approach.
“If it takes me being the bad guy by highlighting the connection, by saying I’ll prosecute parents for truancy, I’ll do it,” she said at the time.
Harris later indicated she regretted supporting the measure, saying it had “unintended consequences.”
One of the victims of these “unintended consequences” has spoken out about the ordeal she and her daughter went through. Cheree People’s child had been unable to attend classes because she was sick with sickle cell anemia. “I had to go to criminal courts for that, not any truancy court. It was actually criminal court,” Peoples recounted during a recent interview.
