Santee, CA Curfew Laws: Juvenile Curfew (2026)

Section 7.08.110 makes it unlawful for any juvenile, defined in Section 7.08.010 as anyone younger than 18, to remain in a public place or on the premises of any privately owned business open to the public between 10:00 p.m. and sunrise the next day. The section lists ten exceptions covering a juvenile accompanied by a parent or guardian; running an errand at a parent's direction; travelling in interstate commerce; going to, working at, or returning from a job without detour; responding to an emergency; standing on the sidewalk abutting home; attending or travelling to or from an adult-supervised school, religious or recreational activity sponsored by the City, a civic group or similar entity; exercising First Amendment rights; moving between two listed exempt activities; or being legally emancipated.

A companion daytime provision, Section 7.08.120, separately bars school-age juveniles from loitering away from home during school hours, subject to its own school, medical, and home-schooling exceptions. Parents face liability too: Section 7.08.130 makes it unlawful for a parent to knowingly permit, or through insufficient control allow, a juvenile to violate the chapter. Enforcement under Section 7.08.140 lets a peace officer cite a juvenile or parent and detain the juvenile until release to a parent or transport home or to school. Section 7.08.150 sets the penalty: a misdemeanor conviction can draw a fine of up to $1,000.00 or a City- or school-approved work project or community service, capped at 20 hours over 60 days and performed outside the juvenile's school and the family's work hours. The City Council adopted the curfew, per Section 7.08.100, to curb juvenile crime and victimization and to free Sheriff's personnel from supervising detained minors.