Should the government decriminalize school truancy?
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
@9GJQRLQRepublican5mos5MO
No because the kids need to learn there subject.if they did not went to school they not going to know nothing in the real world.At least let them finish high school so they have experience if they encounter something they have to know.
@9FSJN9V6mos6MO
Children need to go to school to get an education. Higher education reduces crime and improves everyone else’s life.
@9F5Z2FH7mos7MO
No. Children need to be in some sort of school. Of course there are exceptions for certain situations like mental or physical health. But otherwise truancy should be enforced. I have worked in public schools for almost ten years and truancy is a big problem.
@9KVPLX9Republican2wks2W
Students, especially high school seniors, may not live with their parents or have a good relationship with them. If the parent is in charge of excusing the students absence, those with no contact or busy parents don't have a fair way to get marked excused. I think their should be more incentives for coming to school and school should be designed to have students wanting to come. But if something comes up or the student is dealing with at home issues, they shouldn't be punished for it.
@ISIDEWITH5yrs5Y
No
@9GXB6PM 4mos4MO
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.
@9H2DDNL4mos4MO
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.
@9H2CHT94mos4MO
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.
@9H2C4ZF4mos4MO
I agree with this statement because its saying that good kids get punished for what bad kids do and they dont get punished for it
There are buses provided to students. There’s no excuse other than medical reasons as to why a student would miss enough school to qualify as truant. Even in the situation where the student is unable to go because of a medical condition they shouldn’t get something they didn’t earn.
@DirtHutCaver2023Libertarian 4mos4MO
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.
@9H22JZH4mos4MO
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.
@9FSV9896mos6MO
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.
@8JJ29SS3yrs3Y
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.
@8LG9KGY3yrs3Y
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
It should depend on the reason for truancy.. Sickness, death, injury, should excuse it but, missing the bus or oversleeping is not an excuse.
@8HW3FSG3yrs3Y
I don’t really know much about this subject.
@8TP3S49Republican3yrs3Y
No, and increase penalties for school truancy.
@9B55G4312mos12MO
Yes, but only up to a point
@8FR5YWN3yrs3Y
Yes, but only for those who have a good reason.
@8FGKSQX3yrs3Y
Truant students should not recieve jail time, but fines and other punishment are suitable.
They should incentivize attendance instead.
@8NPMJB33yrs3Y
I don't think people should be thrown in jail for missing school.
@8MMWQX23yrs3Y
Depends on the reasoning
@8FK3M943yrs3Y
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.
@8F4ZCHC4yrs4Y
Sometimes the kid learns more out of school than in school, but truancy is still bad.
@8F4HDNV4yrs4Y
Yes, unless the student has committed other crimes along with the truancy, the discipline should be up to the school system itself.
@8DYSJSLRepublican4yrs4Y
Yes, students who refuse to learn should not be required to do so, though the consequences of that failure should be made clear to both student and parents.
@8QBRNB73yrs3Y
Yes school truancy should not be a charge in the first place.
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
@93CPDNV2yrs2Y
It depends on the individual's situation.
Yes, but only for students, not parents.
@9FZMFMVIndependent6mos6MO
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.
@8ZTMGXXIndependent2yrs2Y
I dont understand what this means
@8Q973B6Republican3yrs3Y
No, but penalties should be less severe
@8PQ2FRK3yrs3Y
@9GZDTYYIndependent4mos4MO
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.
@9BHTTC711mos11MO
Yes, but truancy should be reported to Child Protective Services.
@97876C31yr1Y
Yes, but leave it up to the states.
@98PXLNG1yr1Y
No, but truancy laws should only exist to protect children and provide them with reasonable education, and should not include jail time.
@988L2NQ1yr1Y
Yes, the school districts should decide how to deal with that issue, not the government
Yes, depending on the circumstance
@9725NDH1yr1Y
Yes, depending on the circumstance.
@959NZ2L2yrs2Y
It shouldn't be a crime, but if the child is missing almost every day then it should become a concern for the school. If the parent is having issues, the school should be able to offer support or be understanding if the family is having a rough time.
@92W7TZJ2yrs2Y
Yes, but only after a certain age.
@9278Y33Independent2yrs2Y
No, it is OK to miss school if you are sick injured or mourning the death of a relative or friend but to allow students to skip school for any reason whenever they want Will cause a skyrocket in crime and drop out rates.
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