Truancy is intentional, unjustified, unauthorized, or illegal absence from compulsory education. Its absence is caused by students of their own free will and does not apply to excused absences. In the U.S. truancy laws are regulated by local school districts and vary widely across the United States. Penalties include fines or jail time for parents or children. In 2019 Presidential candidates Elizabeth Warren and Beto O’Rourke introduced plans that would require the government to decriminalize truancy at the federal level.
@ISIDEWITH5yrs5Y
Yes
@9FSJN9V1yr1Y
Children need to go to school to get an education. Higher education reduces crime and improves everyone else’s life.
@9FPL67T1yr1Y
All children under the age of seventeen should be required to go to school with a students being able to miss school if the school had approved the reason for the absence.
@9G7ZZWJ 1yr1Y
Sometimes the breaks that students are given are not sufficient because the main reason students want time off is mental exhaustion, not celebration of something. Said exhaustion can happen for many reasons and at many times.
@9HRJCKTRepublican10mos10MO
Education transformed the nation from an agricultural to a modernized first-world country, without mandating at least some basic level of education poverty rates will increase and the quality of life for countless Americans will plummet.
@ISIDEWITH5yrs5Y
No
@9GXB6PM 11mos11MO
I feel like school truancy is stupid because good kids who have hard things going on in life, and can't always be in school shouldn't have to bare consequences schools should at least speak with the students . But if a kid doesn't try and it naturally bad they should bare the consequences.
@9H2H9RL11mos11MO
If we have more educated, well rounded students and more people are trying to get a good education, this increases the amount of educated and intelligent people around the country, there is nothing wrong with that that i can think of.
@9H2DDNL11mos11MO
If a child is not going to school, it is harming their education. If they are close to falling under that title of truancy, finding a way to continue education is important. Life is hard but a good school system can help a child who is missing too much school to stay on track.
@9H2CHT911mos11MO
School truancy is an excuse to participate in these hard things in life such as gangs, drugs, and sexual relations so it should be outlawed.
@9H2KZLK11mos11MO
Those students may be good kids but no matter what is going on at home there should be a valiant effort in trying to come to school. There should be that conversation had with the family and the student but there needs to be some consequence on not coming to school each day.
@DirtHutCaver2023Libertarian 11mos11MO
If the government shouldn't decriminalize school truancy, what will you do to make school more-engaging and educational? How will you provide better access to school for those who can't get to school easily? Etc.
Basically, how would you make school worth going to? At the moment, school isn't very worth going to, so I feel like it's not fair to punish kids for truancy. But, Idk.
@9H22JZH11mos11MO
My argument is that some kids can have problems at home, family emergencies, or lack of a way to get to school. They should not be criminalized if they're less than 10 minutes late or don't have transportation.
@9FSV9891yr1Y
It should only be towards children who do not attend school on their own accord. If it is for a good reason they should not be marked truant as you never know what they are going through.
@ISIDEWITH1mo1MO
Should parents be punished for their children's truancy, or is that unfair to parents facing difficult circumstances?
@9TTJ644Independent4wks4W
If the parent purposefully and forcefully isolate their kids from important educational activity, then they should be apprehended for indirect truancy and give the child educational assistance. If the child skips school too much, not being disciplined by his/her parents/guardian, then they should be imprisoned for truancy. Lack of discipline is not an excuse.
@ProudJew 3wks3W
Punishing parents for their children's truancy often fails to address the root causes of why kids are missing school, especially when families face complex challenges like poverty, mental health issues, or unstable home environments. Instead of punitive measures, we need to offer support systems that address the underlying issues, such as counseling, mentoring, and community resources. The goal should be to keep kids in school through understanding and support, not punishment, ensuring that education remains accessible and effective for all students.
@ProudJew 3wks3W
Punishing parents for their children's truancy often misses the root causes—like poverty, mental health, or lack of resources—that families face daily. Instead of adding pressure through fines or legal actions, we should focus on proactive support systems that address these challenges.
By connecting parents, schools, and community services, we can tackle the real issues behind truancy, helping students stay in school without penalizing struggling families. This approach fosters a more inclusive, understanding, and effective solution to truancy that benefits everyone involved.
@9TWP2Z33wks3W
Yes, if there is a true reason for chronic absences then the parent need to communicate that.
@8JJ29SS4yrs4Y
Yes, however, if the absence is clearly a day that was skipped, students should not receive credit for anything due that day or assignments handed out that day. Fall on their own sword.
It should depend on the reason for truancy.. Sickness, death, injury, should excuse it but, missing the bus or oversleeping is not an excuse.
@8LG9KGY4yrs4Y
depends on what the problem is like doing school online ,its really easy to forget to do it because you can get busy with stuff at home
@8HW3FSG4yrs4Y
I don’t really know much about this subject.
@9B55G432yrs2Y
Yes, but only up to a point
@8TP3S49Republican3yrs3Y
No, and increase penalties for school truancy.
@9RXP9KX2mos2MO
Yes, it is the school’s responsibility to punish students for unreasonable absence, not the government
@8NPMJB34yrs4Y
I don't think people should be thrown in jail for missing school.
@ISIDEWITH1mo1MO
Have you ever felt that school wasn't a priority for you, and if so, why?
Yes, because a private school had incredibly abusive policies and I felt like my education wasn't valued, but rather my punishment.
@9TQTFDL4wks4W
I think school has always been a priority for me. It has taught me many things that I would not have learned about without it.
It hasn't been my priority since freshman year second semester.
@8FR5YWN4yrs4Y
Yes, but only for those who have a good reason.
They should incentivize attendance instead.
@8FGKSQX4yrs4Y
Truant students should not recieve jail time, but fines and other punishment are suitable.
@8FK3M944yrs4Y
It shouldn't be jail time for the parents if the kids are giving them a hard time. Not only that, but when school systems are paying attention to attendance they tend to notice absence of children being abused at home. The schools shouldn't make it criminal for the parents because 10 absences at my high school was a truancy. Kids have doctor's and sick days not covered by insurance. Kids need mental health days and sometimes just need a day off.
@9TP3NXB4wks4W
It would be better to support and care for children and their families rather than simply punishing them.
@9LF5SCS6mos6MO
a student should not be criminalized for not attending school. More money and effort should be invested in school communities to address the core reasons why students drop out or avoid attending regularly.
@9L74FFC7mos7MO
To an extent, yes; minor-aged students shouldn’t be jailed for it, but the parents absolutely should. This should be considered on an individual level, and the focus should be on the family dynamics that may be leading to truancy
@9FZMFMVIndependent1yr1Y
No, it is OK to miss school if you’re sick, injured or mourning the loss of a loved one, but allowing students to skip school whenever they feel like it, for no reason, will certainly lead to a dramatic climb in dropout and crime rates.
@9GZDTYYIndependent11mos11MO
School truancy laws should be left to the most local level of government that primarily controls education. That being said, I believe that deliberate absence from school without a reasonable excuse should not be a crime since for young individuals, school is essentially their job, which would make criminalizing school truancy akin to declaring skipping a work shift illegal, which is unreasonable since the consequences for skipping work should be determined by the employer and not the government, the exception of course being government institutions.
@ISIDEWITH1mo1MO
If a student skips school, do you think they should be punished or rather helped to figure out why they're skipping?
@9D3RPBQ1yr1Y
Yes of course, and make sure it’s rehabilitative
No, but only fine parents
@8DMKCRG4yrs4Y
Yes, but there should be programs to deal with this better as to penalize the parent and figure out better solutions but for law enforcement to get involved it's too much.
No but each truancy case should be looked at individually and parents should not get jail time or fined if it is not their fault
@8F4ZCHC4yrs4Y
Sometimes the kid learns more out of school than in school, but truancy is still bad.
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