San Juan Kids Free from Daytime Curfew

Not wanting to punish "the good kids," the City Council unanimously voted down Tuesday a proposal from its to impose a daytime curfew on minors.

It did relax existing nighttime curfew hours by changing the start time from 10 p.m. to 11 p.m., and gave that current ordinance more weight, allowing deputies to issue administrative fines to those who violate the municipal law.

said the daytime curfew ordinance—which would have been effective between 8 a.m. and 2:30 p.m.—would have put more teeth into existing curfew laws established under California's education code and would have stopped from  spinning his wheels.

"The education code as it is is really not effective," said Abe. "It’s very few people [who are habitually truant], but they are out there committing vandalism, petty thefts, some of them are [doing] drugs … they’re out there when they should be in school.

"For the parents who either don’t care, don’t know or don’t want to know, they see me three or four times ... it comes to a point when [the students] don’t even walk away really fast; they just sit there and watch me drive up to them."

But for the parents and children who showed up to Tuesday's council meeting wearing anti-daytime curfew name tags, it was a broad law that would have punished the majority for the crimes committed by a minority; violated constitutional rights; and caused youths to live in fear when going about their daily, innocent activities.

Ruth Willet, a retired public-school teacher who home-schooled her child, said the the curfew would "put too much of a burden on home-schooled students who would feel that they were in a position that made them look and feel guilty if they were anywhere in the non-school community during school hours," she said.

On numerous occasions, Meyer attempted to assure the City Council and the overwhelming number in attendance that deputies would enforce the ordinance in the spirit of the law, rather than the letter.

And the Youth Advisory Board conducted a survey that showed that 50 percent of participants said they would be in favor of the daytime curfew. "We told them it was aimed at truant students ... and they supported it," said board member Alberto Barrera.

But those in opposition, including the council members, said there are already existing criminal laws to punish those kids who are out on the streets committing crimes when they should be in school. They also said it should be up to the schools to punish truants.

"I know Deputy Abe wants the additional hammer to gain compliance, but I think it’s for a very small minoirity of students," Mayor Sam Allevato, a retired police officer, said. "I hear a lot of home-schooled kids would be initmiated—and that I don’t like. I want them to feel like the police are there to help them, to protect them."

Under the amendments made to the city's nighttime ordinance Tuesday, administrative fines will be up to $100 for a first-time violation, $150 for a second violation, $250 for a third and up to $1,000 for a fourth and fifth.

Interested in learning about what else happened at the City Council meeting on March 15? Check out:

• IN-N-OUT DRIVE-THRU OK ON DEL OBISPO