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@ISIDEWITHQuestionsEducationStarted 7yrs agoActive 2yrs ago

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.

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Answer Overview

Response rates from 140k America voters.

52%
Yes
48%
No

Historical Support

Trend of support over time for each answer from 140k America voters.

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Historical Importance

Trend of how important this issue is for 140k America voters.

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Other Popular Answers

Unique answers from America voters whose views went beyond the provided options.

 @8JJ29SS from Ohio  answered…6yrs6Y

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.

 @9DZQJQM from Texas  answered…3yrs3Y

No and make public schools stricter

 @8G4T258 from Oklahoma  answered…6yrs6Y

It should depend on the reason for truancy.. Sickness, death, injury, should excuse it but, missing the bus or oversleeping is not an excuse.

 @8LG9KGY from North Carolina  answered…6yrs6Y

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

 @8HW3FSG from Colorado  answered…6yrs6Y

I don’t really know much about this subject.

 @9B55G43 from Oregon  answered…3yrs3Y

Yes, but only up to a point

 @8TP3S49 from Kentucky  answered…5yrs5Y

No, and increase penalties for school truancy.

 @8NPMJB3 from Massachusetts  answered…6yrs6Y

I don't think people should be thrown in jail for missing school.

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 @ISIDEWITH submitted…2yrs2Y

Elizabeth Warren Walks Back Murder Comments

Congressional Democrats broadly denounced the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson Friday morning, after Republicans started accusing Sen. Elizabeth Warren of excusing violence.“No one's condoning this,” said Rep. Brad Schneider (D-Ill.). “Violence never is the right answer for anything. And it was a horrible murder, a tragic loss for his family.” Warren this week condemned the shooting, but added that people “can be pushed only so far.”"We'll say it over and over," Warren said on MSNBC’S “The ReidOut.” " Violence is never the answer. This guy [Luigi Mangione] gets a trial who's allegedly killed the CEO of UnitedHealth, but you can only push people so far, and then they start to take matters into their own hands."In a statement to POLITICO, Warren said, “Violence is never the answer. Period. I should have been much clearer that there is never a justification for murder.” Top Republicans denounced Warren's comments and the walked-back rhetoric, with House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) calling it “inappropriate and dangerous.”Some House Democrats asked about the incident on Thursday pivoted the conversation to discuss policy options on health care or gun safety.“I don't really know that this is really a space that Congress normally weighs in on,” said Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas). “But at the end of the day, I think it’s an opportunity, because now people are talking about health care and to talk about the fact that this industry has honestly not been as helpful as it could be.”“Violence is never the answer,” said Rep. Troy Carter (D-La.). “We know that there are people suffering, there’s great challenges in healthcare. There's great challenges, and people have, in fact, been wronged, but a process of governance is the way to address that, not violence.”And Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Calif.) who denounced the murder, said the killer should be prosecuted and that “I do know that allegedly a ghost gun was used, and we should also ban ghost guns. There's no reason for them beyond the streets.”

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Based on 140k responses to this question.

These results come from iSideWith's ongoing political issues survey. We collect over a million responses per day, filter out duplicate and multiple submissions, and break the results down by political party, ideology, age, state, and census demographics (income, race, education, household).

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iSideWith. (2026). “Should the government decriminalize school truancy?” — Public Opinion Poll Results. Retrieved June 25, 2026, from https://www.isidewith.com/polls/3881776833

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