The United States has a long history of enacting laws to protect children. From the child labor laws of the 1930s to today, government has always taken an active role in monitoring the well-being, health, and safety of young people.
Curfew laws regulate the hours people under 18 can remain in a public place, typically with exceptions for young people with a parent or guardian, traveling for work, or exercising their First Amendment rights.
Though they’re often characterized negatively, curfew laws are in fact much like other child protection laws, such as truancy. Truancy laws require children ages 6 through 17 to attend school or face legal repercussions. Chronic absenteeism from school typically signals a student is struggling and possibly having challenges at home. Young people who don’t want to go home at night are often dealing with the same domestic issues.
Why then do so many people support truancy laws but not curfews? If children are legally required to be at school for certain hours of the day, it’s not unreasonable to also ask they be at home for certain hours of the day for their well-being and safety.