Judy Aron sends along information she received from a Michigan homeschooling parent about how to cope with a new curfew:
"The Juvenile Daytime Curfew takes effect on Monday, October 18, within the boundaries of the city of Battle Creek, for students aged 6-15, between the hours of 7:30 am and 2:30 pm, Monday through Friday. This includes both residents of Battle Creek and visitors to the city. Please keep in mind: It is NOT illegal for our children to be in public, whether or not they are accompanied by a parent.
I wish to pass on accurate information, so I contacted Lt. Hampton of the Battle Creek City Police. He outlined operation standards related to the curfew. He feels that at this time, a child stating that they are homeschooled would be allowed to continue with their activities immediately, without even providing parent's contact information. He also stated that he feels that contacts from police officers will never go any farther than collecting parent contact information.
Other insights were shared. Such as: 1) Evasive behavior such as a student running away from an officer would draw the attention of the officer and increase chances of being questioned. A lone student or small group of students that appeared to have a purpose conducting business would probably not be questioned.
2) Disrespectful 'attitude'-filled answers or incomplete answers could result in further questions. 3) The following questions are the same questions an officer would ask under current truancy laws, and are not necessarily due to the enactment of the curfew.
An officer is most likely to ask, "So what're you up to?" (Answers might
be 'shopping,' 'studying,' 'going to the movie,' or 'getting something
to eat.') The next question would be, 'Should you be in school? At this
point a child stating they are out of school for the day or that they
are homeschooled should be dismissed, according to Lt. Hampton."
