DAY CURFEW IDEA PITCHED BY OFFICIALS; AGOURA HILLS TO PONDER PLAN TO SEND KIDS TO JUVENILE COURT.

Byline: Sonia Giordani Daily News Staff Writer

Agoura Hills kids who cut class could end up in juvenile court if the City Council passes a new daytime curfew for teen-agers under 18.

Currently, students who are out on the streets between 8:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. are picked up by sheriff's deputies and returned to school, where they are disciplined by the principals.

But the new law, which the council will consider Wednesday night, would allow truants to be ticketed and ordered to appear in juvenile court with a parent.

``This law is a proactive tool that brings the parents into the equation,'' said Capt. Bill McSweeney of the Lost Hills sheriff's station, which serves Agoura Hills, Calabasas, Hidden Hills, Westlake Village and adjacent unincorporated Los Angeles County areas.

``Instead of being just a taxi service back to school, we can involve the parents at a court hearing that tries to get to the bottom of the problem,'' McSweeney said.

With no money to pay for truancy officers, Las Virgenes schools have depended on the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department to pick up students who are absent from school without their parents' permission.

The Lost Hills station picks up about 10 students a month from all the communities in its jurisdictions, but of the regions in its jurisdiction, only Agoura Hills has no daytime curfew for minors.

For more than 10 years, the city has had an evening curfew, which prohibits minors from being out between 10 p.m. and sunrise unless they have written permission from their parents.

The Agoura Hills City Council approved an ordinance in May establishing the daytime curfew. Prior to a second reading, however, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals struck down a similar juvenile curfew ordinance in San Diego.

On Wednesday, the council will consider a new ordinance that amends the existing evening curfew and the time ordinance to conform with the court's ruling.

``There are two changes,'' said City Manager Dave Adams. ``The first is that it allows kids to be out as long as they are exercising their First Amendment rights, such as attending a late-night protest. The second is that it excludes the juvenile homeless.''

Council member Dan Kuperberg said he opposes a daytime curfew in Agoura Hills.

``Clearly, the students should be in schools. But it's the school district's responsibility to make sure they are there,'' said Kuperberg, who said a daytime curfew could send the wrong message to youths.

``We spend a lot of money and time getting our kids to trust the sheriff's deputies,'' Kuperberg said. ``But, now, if you're walking down the street, they might ticket you and send you to court. It's a contradiction in the educational values we're asking our kids to believe in.''

Las Virgenes school administrators said, however, that the new law would help them cut down on truancy as well as hold the parents accountable to their children's whereabouts.

``It's not going to hurt students who are not doing anything wrong - the students in school or the students who are out of school with legitimate excuses,'' said Susan Allen, vice principal at Agoura High School.

``The purpose is not to harass students but to give the Sheriff's Department another tool to deal with kids who have a problem,'' she said.

McSweeney said keeping kids off the streets and in school ultimately will help keep the kids out of trouble.

Juveniles account for more than 50 percent of all crimes in the city of Agoura Hills, from petty theft and vandalism to more serious felony offenses including breaking into schools and homes, McSweeney said.

Although juvenile crime already has begun a downward trend in recent years, McSweeney said the curfews help make sure students stay out of trouble.