Abusive Truancy Policy in Lebanon, PA | The Public Interest Law Center

Truancy is a real problem. Missing school undermines students’ educations, leading to increased dropout rates and ultimately harming the entire community. But rather than confront the problem with a constructive policy that would actually get kids back in school, the Lebanon School District responded by adopting an abusive and counterproductive policy of levying exorbitant truancy fines – seemingly designed to push kids out rather than pull them back in. During the 2008-2009 school year alone, the District fined Lebanon parents over $500,000, more than ten times more per student than nearby Lancaster School District.

In January 2011, the Law Center and the Pennsylvania NAACP filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania against the Lebanon School District to compel the District to stop collecting and to repay truancy fines to 500 families. The complaint alleges that the fines set by the District exceed the $300 per citation state limit. In August 2013, the Federal District Court in Harrisburg has officially approved a plan for the Lebanon School District to return more than $100,000 to parents for excessive truancy fines it collected.

Case Progress

August 2013
Lebanon Parents will Finally Receive Reimbursement from School District for Truancy Fines

April 2013
Settlement Approved

February 2013
Settlement Reached; Parents Saved Over $430,000 in Fines

November 2012
Law Center’s Motion is Granted; District’s Motion is Denied

July 2012
Law Center Files Response to District’s Motion for Summary Judgment

July 2012
Both Sides File for Summary Judgment

June 2012
Motion for Class Certification Granted

June 2012
100% of Unpaid Excessive Fines Reduced

Background
Effects of the Case: New Truancy Fines Down, Illegal Fines Partially Reduced

Case Progress

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