(A) Truancy prohibited.
(1) It shall be unlawful for any person 18 years of age or younger who is required by law to attend school and who is subject to the compulsory attendance requirements of the Illinois School Code, and/or enrolled in a public, private (including a home school) or parochial school, to absent himself or herself from attendance at school during the hours in which he or she is enrolled, including summer school, without parental permission or the permission of such student’s school authorities.
(2) For purposes of this section, TRUANT and TRUANCY shall be as defined in Section 26-2a of the Illinois School Code, as may be amended.
(B) Minors in public place prohibited. It shall be unlawful for any person 18 years of age or younger who is required by law to attend school and who is subject to the compulsory attendance requirements of the Illinois School Code and/or enrolled in a public, private (including a home school) or parochial school to absent himself or herself from attendance at school during the hours in which he or she is enrolled, including summer school, without parental permission or the permission of such student’s school authorities and found in a public place, as defined herein. For purposes of this section, a minor is absent from school and found in a public place if said minor is found loitering, wandering, idling, strolling, playing or aimlessly driving or riding about in or upon any public street, avenue, road, highway, curb area, alley, beach, playground, public place or public building, place of amusement or eating place, vacant lot or unsupervised place or any place open to the public within the village during the hours of the same day when said minor’s school is in session.
(C) Exemptions. The provisions of divisions (A) and (B) of this section shall not apply when:
(1) The minor has in his or her possession a written excuse from the minor’s parent(s), legal guardian(s), or other adult person(s) having the legal care or custody of said minor, which provides a reasonable explanation under the circumstances considering the time of the day, the conduct being engaged in at the time by the minor and other observable factors so as to determine the validity of the minor’s absence from school;
(2) The minor is accompanied by his or her parent(s), legal guardian(s) or other adult person(s) having the legal care or custody of the minor;
(3) The minor is on an emergency errand directed by his or her parent(s), legal guardian(s), or other adult person(s) having legal care or custody of the minor;
(4) The minor is going directly to or from a medical appointment;
(5) The minor has permission to leave the campus of his or her school enrollment or the place of his or her home school and has in his or her possession a valid, school-issued (including home school), off-campus permit;
(6) The minor is going directly to, or returning directly from a public meeting or a place of entertainment, such as a movie, play, sporting event, dance or other school activity provided such meeting, event or activity is a school-approved activity for the minor or is otherwise supervised by school personnel of the minor’s school; or
(7) Those defenses and/or exceptions as set forth in the Illinois School Code for compulsory attendance or enrollment in school are incorporated herein by reference and shall be exemptions herein.
(D) Parental responsibility. It shall be unlawful for any parent(s), legal guardian(s) or other person to permit a person in his or her custody or control to violate the provisions of divisions (A) and (B) of this section.
(E) Contributing to truancy. It shall be unlawful for any person 18 years of age or older to perform any act of commission, or omission which act encourages, contributes or facilitates the truancy of any person as prohibited in divisions (A) and/or (B) of this section.
(Ord. 12-12, passed 7-16-2012) Penalty, see § 130.99