Attending school regularly from a young age is crucial to a chance at success as an adult; children who miss school and as a result, fall behind early, often become discouraged with education and are at a high risk of dropping out before finishing high school. Intervening when children are truant –that is, repeatedly absent from school without an excuse from a parent or guardian—is one way schools try to reduce the drop-out rate and give children more choices for their futures.
States require children to be in school (or home-schooled) from a young age. In most states, compulsory education begins at about age six and ends at age 16 or 18. Any school-aged child who misses school without a good reason is considered truant.
How much school must a child miss to come to the attention of schools or government agencies? State and local laws commonly set a threshold of a certain number of unexcused absences per month or school year. Some say as few as three unexcused absences warrant intervention; others don’t take action until there are ten absences in a school year.
Police Responses to Truancy
If police find a school-age child in public during school hours, they will probably take the child to school. But especially if they think the child was involved in other illegal activity such as drug use or vandalism, they may take the child to a juvenile detention center and try to contact a parent or guardian to pick up the child.
School Responses to Truancy
Typically, a school contacts parents when their children are repeatedly absent from school without an excuse. The school reminds parents that it’s their responsibility to make sure the child is in class daily—and that parents, not just the child, may be penalized if the truancy continues. School officials may meet with the student and parents together to impress on them the seriousness of the problem. Some schools use volunteers who are trained to work with families where truancy is a problem. If the student is unhappy with his or her current school, school officials might suggest an alternative if one is available.
If the problem continues, schools typically refer the matter to the local juvenile court. That doesn’t mean it will be treated as a criminal case; the court may begin its efforts with a program that involves social workers or probation officers who will work with the family, the child, and the school to improve school attendance.
Juvenile Court Actions
If less formal methods of keeping a child in school don’t work, a juvenile court hearing may be held. The child—usually, a teenager—and the parents or guardians must appear in court for a hearing before the judge. (There are no juries in juvenile court.) Juvenile court judges had broad latitude to order steps aimed at rehabilitation, including:
- Family counseling
- Home detention
- Detention in a juvenile facility
If the court determines that the parents or guardians are not living up to their responsibility to supervise the child and make sure he or she goes to school every day, they may be fined as well. Typically, laws allow courts to impose fines of a few hundred dollars on parents.
If you need help with a juvenile criminal charge, Submit Your Case for a Free Review from a local Juvenile Criminal Defense Lawyer.
