A bill is making its way through the Maryland Senate and the House of Delegates.
State Senator Karen Lewis Young (Photo from Md. General Assembly)
Annapolis, Md (KM) A bill to try and reduce truancy among students in Frederick County is before the State Senate. The measure, which has the unanimous support of the local Legislative Delegation, would let the Circuit Court Administrative Judge of the Sixth Circuit to establish an truancy reduction pilot program in the Juvenile Court system in Frederick County.
State Senator Karen Lewis Young says it’s important for these young people to complete their educations. “There is a direct relationship between truancy and juvenile crime as well as a bunch of negative behaviors,” she says.
Lewis Young noted that Frederick County has a very successful pilot program. “They’ve increased school attendance by about 47 percent. But in order to make it permanent and qualify for some funding that’s been set aside, we need to approve it,” she said.
On Wednesday, a hearing was held on the bill before the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee where some local residents, and representatives from the School System and the courts testified in favor of the legislation. They talked about the program available locally which they want to make permanent.
But Lewis Young said time is pressing and this bill needs to be passed. “The House version is in {the} Rules {Committee}. So I think it’s fair to say it’s probably stuck,” she said. “So it’s really important to get the Senate bill moving and across the street in time for Crossover which is March the 18th.”
By Crossover Day, bills need to pass the House of Delegates or the Senate, and “cross over” to the opposite chambers in order to get a chance of passage.
By Kevin McManus