Under New York State’s “compulsory education” laws, every child between the ages of 6 and 16 must attend full-time school. There are exceptions, and the state allows local school districts set higher ages for dropping out. Certain districts may also require five-year-olds to attend kindergarten. Still, any school-age kids who skip class too often could face school discipline for truancy. In serious cases, they could even end up in juvenile court. Read on for details.
Local Control Over Absence Policies
Unlike many other states, New York’s compulsory education laws don’t spell out a particular process for addressing the problems of students who are missing too much school, or even how many absences it takes to be considered a truant. Instead, state regulations require local school districts to come up with their own attendance policies, which should include:
- decisions as to which reasons for missing school or being late will be excused and which will be considered unexcused absences
- the school discipline that will be used to discourage unexcused absences, and
- a description of the process for developing intervention strategies to address truancy.
(N.Y. Comp. Codes R. & Regs. tit. 8, § 104.1 (2019).)
Penalties for Parents of Truants
Under New York’s compulsory education laws, it’s the responsibility of parents to make sure their children go to school. If they don’t do that, they could be charged with violating the law, unless they can show that they aren’t able to control their kids. A first offense comes with a maximum fine of $10 or 10 days in jail, but each violation after that could result in a fine of $50 and/or 30 days in jail. (N.Y. Educ. Law §§ 3212, 3233 (2019).)
Penalties for Truancy
Depending on local district policies, students with too many unexcused absences will generally face school disciplinary proceedings or truancy intervention programs. But if they’re beyond their parents’ control, the children may come under the juvenile court’s supervision as minors “in need of supervision.” They could then end up in foster care or detention. If they’re at least 16 years old and go to school in a district that has a higher dropout age, they could also face penalties and/or jail time for violating the compulsory education laws. (N.Y. Fam. Ct. Act § 712(a); N.Y. Educ. Law §§3212(4), 3233 (2019).)
When to Speak With a Lawyer
If the school is treating your child as a truant, you may want to speak with an education lawyer to learn how you can protect your child’s rights in disciplinary proceedings. If you’re thinking of declaring that you can’t control your child (or you’ve already done so), an attorney experienced in juvenile law should be able to explain the consequences of taking that step, as well as represent your child in juvenile court proceedings. And finally, if you as a parent or guardian are being charged with violating the compulsory education laws, you should seek the advice of a criminal defense attorney to learn how you can defend yourself against the charges.