It has to be tough being a kid in Iowa. There can be no better evidence of that statement than merely watching the legislation that is introduced in the Iowa General Assembly this session that pertains to school-aged minors.
Some members of the Iowa House are determined to make all children look alike. House File 77, a bill that will allow school districts to draft prescriptive dress code policies, has found its way out of the House Education Committee and is ready for debate on the House floor. Two brave Democrats stood up to the nonsense of this government regulation of children and their families. Representatives Dan Kelley (D-Newton) and Nate Willems (D-Lisbon) voted “no” on the bill’s passage out of committee.
House File 116 is a bill that raises the compulsory school attendance from age 16 to 18, and attaches a caveat that an adolescent who quits school prior to the age of 18 is not eligible to obtain a driver’s license. But it goes much further than that. If the teen who quits school turns eighteen after September 15, he or she cannot obtain the driver’s license until the end of the school year. Let’s face it, some kids don’t belong in school, and everything society does to force them through the pain of attending can only make it worse – for everyone! Is the real intent of this legislation counting the teenager for school district funding without any real social benefit? This bill has not moved yet, but we’re watching it closely.
Another driver’s license-related issue is Senate Study Bill 1032. Stephanie and I were the only two people in a room of about 50 that opposed this legislation in a subcommittee meeting this week. The intent may be noble – preventing teens from being involved in serious accidents, but the practicality of the matter is another chance for adolescents to rebel. SSB 1032 limits a minor with an intermediate driver’s license from carrying more than one passenger unless other passengers are immediately related to the driver, such as a parent or sibling. The original bill also narrowed the current curfew from 12:30 am to 10:00 pm, but the subcommittee amended that section from the bill.
A major concern of Fawkes-Lee & Ryan, as it pertains to SSB 1032, is that it creates more status crimes. Status crimes are defined by Nolo.com as such: “In juvenile cases, a “status offense” involves conduct that would not be a crime if it was committed by an adult — in other words, the actions are considered to be a violation of the law only because of the juvenile’s status as a minor (typically anyone under 18 years of age).” As a rule, curfews, truancy and possession of tobacco are status crimes. Imagine with us, if you will, the various maneuvers of getting around this law – hiding in the back seat, claiming that everyone is a sibling without identification, tinting windows darker than allowed by law, etc. Many of those shenanigans will, no doubt, end up in charges of “interference with official acts”, which is already overused and abused by some law enforcement officials.
If a juvenile is mentally retarded or suffers from a mental illness, things get tougher if the juvenile is adjudicated delinquent in juvenile court. House Study Bill 38 and Senate Study Bill 1057 are bills that we’ve seen before. They are bills that, in the past, have been requested by the Iowa County Attorney’s Association. The intent of these bills is to remove language that sets aside a disposition of adjudication and dismisses a petition where a mentally retarded or mentally ill child commits a delinquent act, and the child is being committed to a mental health institution. These bills have not had a subcommittee meeting at this time. Last year, the Iowa Association for Justice played a huge role in preventing this issue from moving past the funnel dates.
There are at least three bills this far into the session that are sympathetic to juveniles who have been caught up in the justice system, but we’ll not get too excited about them until we see better progress. However, one of those bills favorable to youth that is moving, at least in the Senate, is the bill that addresses the problem with juveniles being sent to prison for life (without the possibility of parole) for non-homicide crimes. The bill will allow a juvenile defendant in a non-homicide case to be eligible for parole after 15 years [the bill originally states 25 years, but the bill was amended in subcommittee to lower the eligibility by another 10 years. County attorneys propose 45 years.]. See “A Must-Do For The Iowa Legislature”.
© Copyright 2011 Fawkes-Lee & Ryan. All rights reserved.
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Stephanie and Marty have become regulars in the webcast world.
Marty is on Chautauqua Weekends at 7:00 am Saturday mornings at: http://www.desmoinesamplified.com/show.asp?showid=42
Stephanie appears on Chautauqua 50309 on Wednesday evenings (8:00 – 10:00 pm) http://www.desmoinesamplified.com/show.asp?showid=25
Both are regular guests of Max Knauer. Listen in on Saturday mornings for an update of legislative activity for the week. Or, listen in on Wednesday evening for a dose of the hot topics brewing at the Iowa Capitol. You may also catch up by listening to a podcast at: http://chatauqua50309.wordpress.com/