New Threat to Your Freedom: Daytime Curfews
This memo is provided courtesy of Roy Hansen,
Private Home Educators of California.

Source: HOME SCHOOL LEGAL DEFENSE ASSOCIATION

Daytime curfews are sweeping the state like a firestorm. Though they vary, these new ordinances generally make it illegal for a person under 18 years of age to be in any public place during set "school hours" unless he falls under one of the listed exemptions.

Daytime curfews are usually the result of an ill-conceived attempt to control gangs and juvenile crime and to reduce truancy. However, they single out a class of citizens, children from 6 to 18 years old, and make it illegal for them to be out in public during specified hours without an approved exemption. For example, Orange County's model ordinance makes it illegal to be out in public during the hours from 8:00 a.m. until 2:30 p.m. "Out in public" is defined as "any place to which the public or a substantial group of the public has access including, but not limited to, streets, highways, beaches, parks, playgrounds, and common areas of schools, hospitals, apartment houses, office buildings, transport facilities, theaters, game rooms, shops, shopping malls, or any other place of business." The city of Buena Park even proposed including "houses"
in its list of public places.

The City of San Diego's new ordinance applies to all juveniles under 13 years old during the hours from 8:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. on days that the student's school is in session. San Diego's ordinance also targets parents who either knowingly permit or by insufficient control allow their child to violate the curfew.

Some of the other cities which have already passed daytime curfews are Chino, Claremont, Fairfield, Fontana, Los Angeles, Monrovia, Montclair, Ontario, Pomona, Rialto, Redondo Beach, Riverside, Upland, and West Palm Beach. Cities that have considered daytime curfew ordinances include San Mateo, Milbrae, Fremont, Sacramento, and most Orange County Cities.

Proposed penalties for curfew violations also vary, but range from $50 to $1000, with some cities adding community service hours, driver's license suspensions, or court-approved parenting classes and juvenile counseling. One proposal even allowed up to 6 months jail time for parents upon a second offense.

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