Truancy

New Jersey students who are younger than 16 could be arrested or end up in juvenile court if they have too many unexcused absences. ... Read more

Students who skip too much school in Tennessee must participate in intervention programs. If those programs don't work, they could potentially end up in juvenile court—and their parents co ... Read more

Students who skip too much school in Indiana may end up in juvenile court, and their parents could face criminal charges. ... Read more

Virginia requires schools to offer help and services to students who skip school, but there are serious legal consequences if they don’t cooperate. ... Read more

Florida schools try to help students who miss too much school, but truants and their parents could face serious legal consequences if they don’t cooperate with those services. ... Read more

Arizona can treat truants and their parents harshly, with fines and possible jail time for the parents or juvenile court for students with too many unexcused absences. ... Read more

New York State mostly lets local school districts decide how to discipline students who skip school. But parents who don’t make their kids go to school could be fined or sent to jail. ... Read more

Alabama law imposes harsh consequences for truancy, including fines and possible jail time for parents of students with too many unexcused absences—and juvenile court for truants whose par ... Read more

Texas schools try to help students who miss too much school, but truants and their parents could still face legal consequences if they don’t cooperate with those services. ... Read more

There may be serious consequences for skipping school in Georgia, including juvenile court for habitual truants and criminal charges for their parents. ... Read more

Learn the compulsory education requirements in your state—when children must start school and when they can drop out legally. ... Read more

Learn how different states deal with unexcused absences from school—from truancy prevention programs to threatening truants’ parents with fines or jail. ... Read more