With the school holidays approaching, parents may be wondering what time kids can stay out in Eugene, Springfield and Lane County.
Here you will find answers to all your questions about Lane County’s curfew for minors.
What is Oregon’s statewide curfew?
Oregon law prohibits minors under the age of 18 from being in public places, including streets, parks, alleys, etc., between midnight and 4 a.m.
Exceptions to this curfew are if the minor is accompanied by a parent, guardian or other person aged 18 or older, with parental consent.
Lane County occasionally imposes specific curfews
Each province or city can allow a stricter curfew for minors. Lane County is adhering to the statewide curfew. Most cities in Lane County do not have a curfew that differs from state law.
Temporary curfews have been imposed in the past.
In 2020, the city of Eugene imposed a temporary curfew downtown for one night after Black Lives Matter protests. However, this curfew applied to all residents, not just minors.
Lane County commissioners imposed a temporary curfew in 2018 after ordering the dispersal of a homeless encampment at the Butterfly Parking Lot in the center of the county.
Portland has previous curfews for minors
Unlike Lane County, other areas in Oregon are imposing earlier curfews compared to the state standard.
The city of Portland has a stricter curfew that depends on age and grade level.
In Portland, minors under the age of 14 who have not yet attended high school are subject to a curfew between 9:15 p.m. and 6 a.m. However, if there is no school the next day, the curfew starts at 10:15 PM
For Portland minors age 14 or older who have attended high school, the curfew is between 10:15 p.m. and 6 a.m. However, if there is no school the next day, the curfew starts at midnight.
Exceptions to the curfew apply to minors accompanied by a parent, guardian or other person aged 21 or older who has permission from the minor’s parent.
Where can you find child care near you in Oregon?
The Oregon Department of Early Learning and Care has a dashboard of resources at https://www.oregon.gov/delc/families/pages/find-childcare.aspx.
You can also call 211 or 1-866-698-6155 for childcare referrals or text “kids” or “niños” to 898211.
The site https://findchildcareoregon.org/ also has options to view based on location, age of children and more.
Miranda Cyr covers education for The Register-Guard. You can contact her at mcyr@registerguard.com or find her on Twitter @mirandabcyr.
This article originally appeared on Register-Guard: When is the curfew in Oregon? In Eugene? Answers may surprise you
