Massachusetts House no. 1825
In May 2003, AHEM representatives researched House Bill 1825, "An Act to Improve Truancy Enforcement and Encourage School Attendance." The proposed bill deals with amending M.G.L. Chapter 76, sec. 1, known as the compulsory education statute. If passed, this bill will give police officers the authority to "apprehend and take to school, any truant or absentee found wandering in the streets or public places." The bill provides that "said truant must identify himself to police officer as truant, or police officer has reason to believe that said truant is truant," before the police officer can apprehend and return to school. After researching the proposed bill, AHEM decided to take no action at the present time. The proposed bill contains safeguards, among them procedures that must be approved by local school officials and police officials, as well as a provision in the bill requiring school and police departments to communicate on a daily basis "solely to determine who is truant on that particular day." Since police officers will be required to obtain a daily list of "truants" from the schools, and to apprehend those individuals appearing on the list, AHEM decided that this particular bill should not pose a problem for homeschoolers, since homeschoolers will not appear on the daily list of "truants."

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