COVINGTON, Ky. (AP) -- School officials in Covington hope a new daytime curfew will boost school attendance.
The curfew took effect this week, allowing authorities to cite students and their parents if pupils are caught on the streets when they should be in classes.
It applies to children ages 6-18 while school is in session, according to The Kentucky Enquirer.
"We're hopeful this will make our attendance go up and make students think twice about skipping school," said Ken Kippenbrock, Covington's director of pupil personnel.
Covington Police spokesman Lt. Col Spike Jones said the ordinance allows a lot of officer discretion, including the ability to take truant students back to school. A previous law only allowed officers to try to contact the parents of the youth. If the attempt was unsuccessful, the child would become the officer's responsibility.
"If an officer is sitting in the police station babysitting a kid, they can't be out patrolling the neighborhoods," Jones said. "This gives us a good tool to get them off the street and into school."
------
Information from: The Kentucky Enquirer, http://www.nky.com
