Law Punishes Truancy by Taking Away Teens' Keys

"There's a big linkage between crime and truancy -- vandalism, burglaries," she said. "I think that most of my fellow lawmakers recognize truancy as a growing problem."

The General Assembly shied away from a harsher proposal in the past session to force truant Prince George's students to wear electronic monitoring devices, such as ankle bracelets.

And the new law's impact is softened by the fact that the state has not changed its decades-old compulsory attendance law. Maryland doesn't require students to go to school beyond age 16, so a truant student simply could wait a few months to obtain a learner's permit.

"It is a step in the right direction, but it's so watered down the positive effect is going to be minimal," D'Angelis said. He also noted that the law counts a student's unexcused absences in the prior semester but not those in the current semester.

"I don't know what the lawmakers were thinking," he said.

However, a Prince George's official involved in early discussions about the bill thinks that even a brief delay in obtaining learner's permits can affect would-be teen drivers.

"It could cause a young person to at least stop and think about losing that privilege because they didn't go to school," said Jimmie L. Slade, who heads the board of directors of the Community Ministry of Prince George's County.

Although some educators expressed a wait-and-see response to the law's effect, others appeared eager to utilize it.

"Seat time [in the classroom] is absolutely critical to children's success. You can never replicate that with a handout," said St. Mary's School Superintendent Michael J. Martirano. "How can I achieve all my other goals for this district if a child isn't in school?"