Next time you think about cutting third period, think again: truancy is now a misdemeanor. On April 18, the Stockton City Council voted 6-1 in favor of the daytime curfew, a city-wide ordinance that is aimed at keeping at-risk kids in school. Prior to the passage of the measure, truants - students who have been caught cutting three or more times, or have three unexcused absences - were penalized under the district education code. The daytime curfew measure transfers jurisdiction of truants over to the city. "The daytime curfew is essentially switching the truancy rules from the educational code to the Stockton City Code," Stockton Police Sergeant Pete Winston said. After three unexcused absences, the offending student is reviewed by a district attendance review board; after six unexcused absences, the student appears before a district student review board. Finally, after nine unexcused absences, the student is evaluated by the Student Attendance Review Board, where either a plan is set up to salvage the student's education or sanctions are set in place. The entire process can last over the entire school year, leaving little time for the student to get back on track. "The daytime curfew will put teeth in the front end of the review process," Winston said. "Too many young people have been slipping through the cracks. By the time we can issue sanctions, the school year is over. It's too long to wait." The daytime curfew is modeled after the current nighttime curfew measure. After three offenses, the offending student will receive a citation, possibly leading to juvenile probation. If the truancy continues, the truant could receive as much as six months in jail, and a $1,000 fine. "The daytime curfew will be something good," parent and math teacher Mike Abdallah said. "Nobody will be cutting class, and those who don't care will have to pay. Hopefully, it will keep kids in school who should be in school anyway." Currently, about 2,000 truants are picked up on the streets during school hours, many of them repeat offenders. Nearly half of them are ninth and tenth graders, and most are caught within two blocks of the school. Support for the new measure, however, is varied. "I think there are many misconceptions regarding the new enforcement," Chief of Police Ed Chavez said. "The name 'daytime curfew' misrepresents the system. It addresses truancy issues, and is for chronic truants - not first time offenders." Schools had already started taking matters into their own hands before the passage of the daytime curfew measure by calling the police department to monitor cutting. While senior Kara Kontos and two friends were out at lunch, the trio was stopped by undercover police officers. All were asked for their off-campus passes, which only one had. Kontos and senior Joey Rocha were detained while the police called vans to take them to the Truancy Center. When the vans arrived, Kontos and Rocha were instead taken back to school and given one day in-school suspensions. "I think the idea of a daytime curfew is stupid," Kontos said. "They [the police] don't know our schedules - you could have a free period, or be out for ROP or lunch, and they have no way of proving that your reason is illegitimate. It's not like we carry our schedules around with us." While figuring out whether an excuse is legitimate or not is a challenge, many reasons are acceptable to be out of school during curfew hours. Any reason that can be cleared by a parent as an excused absence is acceptable. "We have to be sure that we're addressing the right people," Winston said. "Young-looking adults and students may be offended, but we have to start somewhere, and that's by asking them." Prior to 1994, truants were taken to the Child Welfare and Attendance Office. In 1994, the Truancy Center was set up, where minors caught outside of school or outside after nighttime curfew were taken until parents or guardians could be contacted. In 1994, Monrovia, Calif., was the first in the nation to test the daytime curfew. Before the curfew was implemented, minors were responsible for eight percent of arrests of the total arrests in Monrovia. Shortly after the curfew started, the police reported a 20 to 30 percent decline in crime and arrests. Yet studies by the Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice show that every year after the curfew was put into place, the percentages of non-curfew arrests shot up exponentially. Monrovia had a 53 percent increase in minors arrested for non-curfew related crimes during the school months that the curfew was enforced. Some Stockton community members, however, are optimistic. "The numbers [of truants picked up] will probably stay about the same," Winston said. "However, I'd expect to see the recidivism rate go down because of the sanction. It doesn't take long before people realize that the next strike on their record could mean a fine, community service or jail time. Then maybe they'll decide to go to school."