(a) No child between the ages of six and seventeen, inclusive, other than a child that has been expelled from school, shall be at any place within the City of Garfield Heights except in attendance at school between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 2:00 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 parent or legal guardian of a child between the ages of six and seventeen, inclusive, shall have a duty to prohibit the child from acting contrary to division (a) of this section. No person shall negligently fail to fulfill the duty imposed by this division.
(c) It shall be an affirmative defense to divisions (a) and (b) of this section 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) of this section 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) of this section.
(e) A police officer or school attendance officer may transport any child found violating division (a) of this section to the child’s residence and may release the child into the care of a parent or legal guardian or to the school the child usually attends, the choice of destination to be made at the discretion of the police officer based on proximity of the destination and other relevant factors, and subject to the need to respond to emergency or priority calls.
(f) Penalty. Any minor violating the provisions of this section is guilty of a misdemeanor of the fourth degree and shall be dealt with in accordance with Juvenile Court laws and procedures. Any parent, guardian or other person having the care and custody of a minor violating this section is guilty of a minor misdemeanor for a first offense and shall be subject to the penalties applicable to such misdemeanor classification. A second offense shall be punishable as a fourth degree misdemeanor and shall be subject to the penalties applicable to such misdemeanor classification. A third or subsequent offense shall be punishable as a first degree misdemeanor and shall be subject to the penalties applicable to such misdemeanor classification. (Ord. 2-1995. Passed 4-10-95.)