ON THE TOWN:Communities must set limits for kids

Of all of the great disservices we have done to our kids, only a couple rank higher than the notion that they have the same rights and privileges as adults.

Kids do not have the same rights and privileges as adults, and no amount of well-meaning do-gooding will change the fact that until kids turn 18 they need to play by a different set of rules.

When they are in school, for example, the school authorities, as part of the community, assume that responsibility. So if Johnny shows up with a T-shirt that reads “Bush stinks” and the principal of that school decides that this message is objectionable, the shirt gets changed or Johnny goes home or sits in an office all day.

And if a teacher or principal decides that Jane is disruptive in class and should be removed, Jane is taken out of class. It matters not whether she has a rough home life or is working eight hours a day in addition to going to school; if she is preventing others from learning, she is removed from the equation.

Kids do not get to roam the streets during school hours without fear of being stopped by the police. If school is in session and there is a school-aged kid on the street, the police have a duty to ask the child why they are not in class.

Kids have only one inalienable right, that is the right to treatment devoid of physical and verbal abuse. All the rest are bestowed upon them by their parents, guardians and school officials, and they can be revoked at any time.

Other than that, parents and the community have a responsibility to set limits.

Curiously enough, in poll after poll, kids say they want those limits.

To make these limits work, parents and the rest of the community have to support teachers and administrators in their efforts to discipline kids. We need to put some teeth back into their choice to discipline our kids.

And we should support the police in their efforts to chase truants.

The Costa Mesa police department wants to put some muscle behind the truancy laws that are already on the books. We owe it to them to test it.

When I read about the plans to pick up truant kids, I wondered what most parents were probably already thinking: “Don’t the police already have the authority to do that?

The short answer is, “Yes.”

“Attendance at school is mandatory under the law. Technically, it is an arrest,” Costa Mesa Police Lt. Clay Epperson told me.

Epperson went on to describe what happened to truant kids who were either taken into custody or returned to school. To be honest, it sounded like the police were operating a shuttle service.

Now they want to issue citations with fines attached to change the psychology behind truancy.

Here’s the other question that could occur to parents: Who is responsible for the fine?

“That’s between kids and parents,” Epperson said.

Uh, not in my home. Any parent who pays that truancy fine without plans for getting paid back is going to find him or herself paying more of them in the future.

Yes, there are a couple of gray areas, such as home-schooled kids who are walking down the street on a break to get some candy. That is a situation that is easily solved through a hall pass of sorts issued by the district that the student can use while outside of class. Or maybe someone has a better idea. It’s not a huge issue, certainly not one that should hold up the program.

A similar program in Monrovia has had good results, including less crime, Epperson said.

Parenting is a community effort. Every day, parents turn kids over to teachers, scoutmasters, coaches, clergy or neighbors for any period of time to help us guide our kids toward doing the right thing.

So if this village we’re in votes to round up kids and fine them, we’re doing it because we’re trying to do something different in order to achieve a different result.

In this case, the desired result is less truancy and a more peaceful society.

The City Council may vote this program in or out, but if it’s approved, please don’t tell me we’re trampling on the rights of children.