Toledo–Lucas County Public Library
Policy on Truancy
As per Norton Webster, OLA Legal Counsel, 8 October 1991.
As per John Iten, OLC Legal Counsel, 30 December 1997.
The following legal opinion, which this Library follows regarding library staffs responsibility towards identifying and reporting juveniles who are possibly truant, was given to the Library by Norton Webster (10/8/91). John Iten agrees with Norton's opinion. John said that the State has not changed the law as to responsibility, and there is no reason for library staff to take on responsibilities which are not theirs and which might create inconsistencies in enforcement throughout the system. Norton's opinion "is good common sense." (12/30/97.)
The Legal Opinion/Library Policy:
"Library staff do NOT have any responsibility to report persons who SEEM to be truant. Library staff do not serve in the role of parent or police. (It would be unwise to have a policy where library staff reported a suspected truant, because it would be difficult consistently to report truants, and if one person were reported but another one was not, the Library would be accused of not upholding its policy.) Truancy is a school problem, not a library problem."
