PSP

							BIL:     4824
TYP:     General Bill GB
INB:     House
IND:     20000328
PSP:     M. McLeod
SPO:     M. McLeod, J.H. Neal and Rutherford
DDN:     l:\council\bills\swb\5076djc00.doc
RBY:     House
COM:     Judiciary Committee 25 HJ
SUB:     Minors, juveniles; child includes when under eighteen in cases of status
         offenses; school attendance requirements



HST:

Body     Date       Action Description                        Com     Leg Involved
______   ________   _______________________________________   _______ ____________
------   20000329   Scrivener's error corrected
House    20000328   Introduced, read first time,              25 HJ
                    referred to Committee


Versions of This Bill


Revised on 20000329


TXT:
 1
 2
 3
 4
 5
 6
 7
 8
 9                               A BILL
10
11   TO AMEND SECTION 20-7-6605, CODE OF LAWS OF
12   SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING TO DEFINITIONS OF
13   TERMS USED IN THE JUVENILE JUSTICE CODE, SO AS TO
14   REVISE THE DEFINITION OF CHILD TO INCLUDE
15   PERSONS UNDER EIGHTEEN YEARS OF AGE IN THE CASE
16   OF STATUS OFFENSES; TO AMEND SECTION 20-7-7205
17   RELATING TO PROCEDURES FOR TAKING JUVENILES
18   INTO CUSTODY, SO AS TO APPLY THESE PROCEDURES
19   TO JUVENILES BEING TAKEN INTO CUSTODY FOR
20   STATUS OFFENSES;    TO AMEND SECTION 20-7-7807
21   RELATING TO SUSPENSION AND REVOCATION OF A
22   DRIVER’S LICENSE AS PART OF THE FAMILY COURT’S
23   DISPOSITIONAL   AUTHORITY     IN   ADJUDICATING
24   JUVENILES, SO AS TO, IN THE CASE OF STATUS
25   OFFENSES, APPLY THIS AUTHORITY TO JUVENILES UP
26   TO AGE EIGHTEEN RATHER THAN AGE SEVENTEEN; TO
27   AMEND SECTIONS 59-65-10 AND 59-65-30, BOTH AS
28   AMENDED, AND RELATING TO COMPULSORY SCHOOL
29   ATTENDANCE     AND     AN    EXEMPTION      FROM
30   COMPULSORY ATTENDANCE, RESPECTIVELY, SO AS TO
31   REQUIRE CHILDREN TO ATTEND SCHOOL UNTIL
32   REACHING THE AGE OF EIGHTEEN RATHER THAN AGE
33   SEVENTEEN.
34
35   Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South
36   Carolina:
37
38   SECTION 1. Section 20-7-6605(1) of the 1976 Code, as added by
39   Act 383 of 1996, is amended to read:
40
41     “(1) ‘Child’ means a person less than seventeen years of age
42   except for purposes of a status offense, ‘child’ means a person less

     [4824]                           2
 1   than eighteen years of age. ‘Child’ does not mean a person sixteen
 2   years of age or older who is charged with a Class A, B, C, or D
 3   felony as defined in Section 16-1-20 or a felony which provides for
 4   a maximum term of imprisonment of fifteen years or more.
 5   However, a person sixteen years of age who is charged with a
 6   Class A, B, C, or D felony as defined in Section 16-1-20 or a
 7   felony which provides for a maximum term of imprisonment of
 8   fifteen years or more may be remanded to the family court for
 9   disposition of the charge at the discretion of the solicitor. An
10   additional or accompanying charge associated with the charges
11   contained in this item must be heard by the court with jurisdiction
12   over the offenses contained in this item.”
13
14   SECTION 2. Section 20-7-7205(A) of the 1976 Code, as added
15   by Act 383 of 1996, is amended to read:
16
17      “(A) When a child found committing a status offense or
18   violating a criminal law or ordinance is taken into custody, the
19   taking into custody is not an arrest. The jurisdiction of the court
20   attaches from the time of the taking into custody. When a child is
21   taken into custody, the officer taking the child into custody shall
22   notify the parent, guardian, or custodian of the child as soon as
23   possible. Unless otherwise ordered by the court, the person taking
24   the child into custody may release the child to a parent, a
25   responsible adult, a responsible agent of a court-approved foster
26   home, group home, nonsecure facility, or program upon the written
27   promise, signed by the person, to bring the child to the court at a
28   stated time or at a time the court may direct. The written promise,
29   accompanied by a written report by the officer, must be submitted
30   to the South Carolina Department of Juvenile Justice as soon as
31   possible, but not later than twenty-four hours after the child is
32   taken into custody. If the person fails to produce the child as
33   agreed, or upon notice from the court, a summons or a warrant
34   may be issued for the apprehension of the person or of the child.”
35
36   SECTION 3. Section 20-7-7807(A) of the 1976 Code, as added
37   by Act 383 of 1996, is amended to read:
38
39     “(A) If a child is adjudicated delinquent for a status offense or is
40   found in violation of a court order relating to a status offense, the
41   court may suspend or restrict the child’s driver’s license until the
42   child’s seventeenth eighteenth birthday.”
43

     [4824]                            3
 1   SECTION 4. Section 59-65-10 of the 1976 Code, as last amended
 2   by Part II, Section 29C, Act 164 of 1993, is further amended to
 3   read:
 4
 5     “Section 59-65-10. (A) All parents or guardians shall cause
 6   their children or wards to attend regularly a public or private
 7   school or kindergarten of this State which has been approved by
 8   the State Board of Education or a member school of the South
 9   Carolina Independent Schools’ Association or some similar
10   organization, or a parochial, denominational, or church-related
11   school, or other programs which have been approved by the State
12   Board of Education from the school year in which the child or
13   ward is five years of age before September first until the child or
14   ward attains his seventeenth eighteenth birthday or graduates from
15   high school. A parent or guardian whose child or ward is not six
16   years of age on or before the first day of September of a particular
17   school year may elect for their child or ward not to attend
18   kindergarten. For this purpose, the parent or guardian shall sign a
19   written document making the election with the governing body of
20   the school district in which the parent or guardian resides. The
21   form of this written document must be prescribed by regulation of
22   the Department of Education. Upon the written election being
23   executed, that child or ward may not be required to attend
24   kindergarten.
25     (B) Each school district shall provide transportation to and from
26   public school for all pupils enrolled in public kindergarten classes
27   who request the transportation. Regulations of the State Board of
28   Education governing the operation of school buses shall apply.”
29
30   SECTION 5. Section 59-65-30(f) of the 1976 Code, as last
31   amended by Act 165 of 1993, is further amended to read:
32
33      “(f) A child who has reached the age of sixteen years and whose
34   further attendance in school, vocational school, or available special
35   classes is determined by a court of competent jurisdiction to be
36   disruptive to the educational program of the school, unproductive
37   of further learning, or not in the best interest of the child, and who
38   is authorized by the court to enter into suitable gainful employment
39   under the supervision of the court until age seventeen eighteen is
40   attained. However, prior to being exempted from the provisions of
41   this article, the court may first require that the child concerned be
42   examined physically and tested mentally to assist the court to
43   determine whether or not gainful employment would be more

     [4824]                            4
 1   suitable for the child than continued attendance in school. The
 2   examination and testing must be conducted by the Department of
 3   Youth Services Juvenile Justice or by any local agency which the
 4   court determines to be appropriate. The court shall revoke the
 5   exemption provided in this item upon a finding that the child fails
 6   to continue in his employment until reaching the age of seventeen
 7   eighteen years.”
 8
 9   SECTION 6. This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.
10                            ----XX----




     [4824]                           5