Brockton, MA Curfew Laws: Juvenile Curfew (2026)

5 of the Revised Ordinances bars any person under sixteen from being upon or about public streets or public places of amusement and entertainment within the city during the hours a minor is required to attend public or private school under state law. The rule targets students who leave school grounds or skip class rather than families out together after hours; it applies only during the school day, not evenings or weekends. Subsection (b) makes it unlawful for a parent, guardian or other adult with custody of a juvenile to knowingly permit that violation, though the ordinance exempts a minor who is accompanied by a parent, guardian or custodial adult, or who is running an emergency errand or legitimate business at that adult's direction.

Subsection (c) separately bars anyone from encouraging or assisting a student to skip or not return to school unless the absence is excused by a school official or falls under a recognized exception. Enforcement runs through both police and the school system: subsection (e) requires that truant students be identified, with school officials and the parent or guardian notified and summoned to a court hearing, and a second violation triggers an in-school suspension. Subsection (f) is explicit that the ordinance does not replace truancy supervision by the school districts or override Massachusetts General Laws truancy provisions; it operates alongside, not instead of, state compulsory-attendance enforcement. The measure was adopted by Ordinance No. 5 to fit the existing numbering scheme.