NORTH VERNON — North Vernon police detained and charged a group of Jennings County High School students who are accused of leaving the school without permission or having a parent or guardian sign them out.
The incident began with a small group of students staging a small demonstration inside the school, said Sgt. Andrew Richmond, North Vernon Police Department spokesman.
The students then moved their group to the sidewalk just outside of the building, Richmond said.
The police department was asked to intervene when students began leaving the school grounds without first gaining permission from school staff and having a proper parent or guardian’s permission per school policy, Richmond said.
Nine students were located, detained and brought to the police department by officers following the small gathering leaving school property, Richmond said. The students were charged and released to a parent or guardian at the police department.
It was determined that all nine of the students had not received proper permission to leave the school by school staff and had not been signed out by a parent or guardian per school policy. Under Indiana Statute IC 20-33-2-23 law enforcement officers may take children into custody during normal school hours if the child is found in a public place.
For more on this story, see Wednesday’s Republic.
