Truancy

Truancy Law


By law, children between the ages of 8 and 18 must attend school. If a juvenile skips school five times in a month or ten times during the school year, the school district must file a truancy petition against the child and/or the parents.

Overview of Court Process


  1. The school district files a truancy petition in Juvenile Court.
  2. The petition is reviewed for sufficiency by the truancy legal assistant, a case number is assigned and court file is created.
  3. The student and parent are summoned to a workshop at the court. At the end of the workshop, the students and parents are given notices for a 30-day review hearing and 60-day court hearing.
  4. The 30-day review hearing will be canceled if the student attends school every day between the workshop and review hearing; otherwise, the student and parents must meet with the truancy probation officer.
  5. Once again, the 60-day court hearing will be canceled if the student attends every day between the review hearing and the court hearing. Otherwise, the student and parents appear before the court to address their truancy challenges/barriers. If a hearing is held, the court may assume jurisdiction over the student's attendance and enter an order compelling school attendance.
  6. If the student has had proper notice of the hearing and fails to appear, a warrant may be issued.