(a) No child between the ages of six and 17, inclusive, other than a child that has been suspended or expelled from school, shall be at any public place, as defined in division (h) below, or any other location within the city, except in attendance at school between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 2:45 p.m. during any school day, unless the child has written proof from school authorities excusing him or her from attending school at that particular time, or unless the child is accompanied by a parent or legal guardian, or a responsible adult selected by the parent or legal guardian to supervise the child.
(b) Each person, parent or legal guardian of a child between the ages of six and 17, inclusive, and each person, firm or corporation operating or having charge of any public place shall have a duty to prohibit the child between the ages of six and 17, inclusive, from behaving contrary to division (a) above or to otherwise aid or abet such behavior. No person shall negligently fail to fulfill the duty imposed by this section.
(c) It shall be an affirmative defense to divisions (a) and (b) above that the child, at the time he or she was found at a place other than in school, was not required by law to be in attendance at school.
(d) It shall be an affirmative defense to division (b) above that the parent or legal guardian initiated the jurisdiction of the Juvenile Court against the child prior to the time that the child was found violating division (a) above.
(e) A police officer or school designee may transport any child found violating division (a) above to the school the child usually attends, or to any location designated by the school authorities as a receiving center for such children, the choice of destination to be made at the discretion of the police officer or school attendance officer based on proximity of the destination and other relevant factors, and subject to the need to respond to emergency or priority calls.
(f) Any child who violates division (a) above is an unruly child and is subject to the jurisdiction of the Juvenile Court.
(g) Any parent or legal guardian who violates division (b) above is guilty of negligently failing to supervise a child of compulsory school age, a misdemeanor. In addition to any other method of enforcement provided for in these codified ordinances or by statute, this offense may be enforced by the issuance of a citation in compliance with Rule 4.1 of the state’s Rules of Criminal Procedure.
(h) As used in this section,
PUBLIC PLACE
includes any street, sidewalk, park, cemetery, school yard, body of water or watercourse, public conveyance or any other place for the sale of merchandise, public accommodation or amusement. Any person, firm or corporation operating or having charge of any public place and who violates division (b) shall be subject to the penalty set forth in § 537.99.
(Ord. 80-11, passed 12-6-2011) Penalty, see § 537.99