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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@ISIDEWITH6yrs6Y
Yes
@9FPL67T2yrs2Y
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.
@HelcovichEmireRepublican5mos5MO
The government has no right to tell kids what to do, only the child's parents have that authority. As long as the kid isn't committing crimes or participating in inhumane acts (such as gender transitioning surgeries or taking drugs), the government has no right to be involved. Parents can choose how they want their child to be educated, whether formally or informally.
@9FSJN9V2yrs2Y
Children need to go to school to get an education. Higher education reduces crime and improves everyone else’s life.
@9GJQRLQRepublican2yrs2Y
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.
@9G7ZZWJ 2yrs2Y
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.
@ISIDEWITH6yrs6Y
No
@9GXB6PM 2yrs2Y
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.
@9H2CHT92yrs2Y
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.
@B2Y4V367mos7MO
School truancy is simply the act of skipping school without a formal excuse. Although it CAN be used to participate in those things, so can anything else that frees up time that would otherwise be spent in a governmental institution. Should everyone's entire days be government-operated to prevent crime?
@9H2C4ZF2yrs2Y
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 2yrs2Y
*Before you read this, sorry for the ramble-y rant.
Agreed, school truancy is kinda dumb. It's like "go to school or your parents go to jail"... :/
I don't think kids should be punished for 'not trying' and being 'naturally bad'. I think school should be more-engaging. Cut out the excess time spent doing nothing! I loved the academic part of school in elementary and middle school, but in high school we learned practically nothing and I dropped out even though I had straight A's because, among other reasons, I doubted that I could even get a GED given… Read more
@DirtHutCaver2023Libertarian 2yrs2Y
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.
@9FSV9892yrs2Y
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.
@9H22JZH2yrs2Y
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.
@ISIDEWITH12mos12MO
Should parents be punished for their children's truancy, or is that unfair to parents facing difficult circumstances?
@9TTJ644Independent12mos12MO
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.
@HelcovichEmireRepublican5mos5MO
Forcefully isolating their kids is bad yes. Skipping school out of the child's own will, and the parents not caring should not be a crime.
@9TVHTFM11mos11MO
Yes it is the parents responsibility to monitor their child.
@9TVGP8FPeace and Freedom11mos11MO
Ion think parents should be punished for their kids just being late to school at least they made it to school, if they are there ion think it should matter, they kids can learn how to use their time and see that missing school does affect you, it's ethier you not intrestesd in school or you are, its hard to going to a place where you got no interest in some people just want to work.
@9TV227611mos11MO
Yes, they should be punished unless they are facing really bad circumstances..
@8JJ29SS5yrs5Y
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.
@8LG9KGY5yrs5Y
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
@8HW3FSG5yrs5Y
I don’t really know much about this subject.
@9B55G432yrs2Y
Yes, but only up to a point
@8TP3S49Republican4yrs4Y
No, and increase penalties for school truancy.
@ISIDEWITH12mos12MO
If a student skips school, do you think they should be punished or rather helped to figure out why they're skipping?
We need to figure out why they're skipping, punishing them may only make the situation worse.
@DavePascal10mos10MO
Help I don't want to write so many responses and i'll keep going till it stops
@9TQVXNK12mos12MO
I think they should be punished is they are old enough to understand that you shouldn't
@9TQSKPT12mos12MO
Figure out as punishing will only counter-incentivise them more, but in the case of a serial truant then punish if there's been no resolve.
@ISIDEWITH12mos12MO
Have you ever felt that school wasn't a priority for you, and if so, why?
@9YFVPC4 10mos10MO
During primary school, I didn’t think my education was important. It began to become more important as I became older, though. Especially since I am a male, all of my teachers until middle school were women and they treated us boys horribly. The teachers were highly unqualified because they did not know how to work with the other gender. I wish I had male teachers during primary school. I would have taken my education seriously.
@9YFSM5C10mos10MO
I believe that the American education system fails majority of kids (including me), due to the lack of exploration, outdated curriculum, lack of student-teacher bonding, and producing hive mind thinking rather than individual and critical thinking.
Yes, because a private school had incredibly abusive policies and I felt like my education wasn't valued, but rather my punishment.
@9TQTFDL12mos12MO
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.
@8NPMJB35yrs5Y
I don't think people should be thrown in jail for missing school.
@9RXP9KX1yr1Y
Yes, it is the school’s responsibility to punish students for unreasonable absence, not the government
@8FR5YWN5yrs5Y
Yes, but only for those who have a good reason.
@8FGKSQX5yrs5Y
Truant students should not recieve jail time, but fines and other punishment are suitable.
They should incentivize attendance instead.
@8FK3M945yrs5Y
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.
No, but provide more exemptions for parents in the case that a student cannot go to school for a valid reason, including sickness/health issues.
@9ZKPQXZ10mos10MO
No, but instead of jail time/fines, it should be examined at the parental level. Oftentimes truancy is the cause of trouble at home.
@9TP3NXB12mos12MO
It would be better to support and care for children and their families rather than simply punishing them.
@9D3RPBQ2yrs2Y
Yes of course, and make sure it’s rehabilitative
@9LF5SCS1yr1Y
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.
@9L74FFC1yr1Y
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
@9GZDTYYIndependent2yrs2Y
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.
@9FZMFMVIndependent2yrs2Y
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.
@8MMWQX25yrs5Y
No, but only fine parents
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
@8DMKCRG5yrs5Y
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.
@8F4ZCHC5yrs5Y
Sometimes the kid learns more out of school than in school, but truancy is still bad.
@8F4HDNV5yrs5Y
Yes, unless the student has committed other crimes along with the truancy, the discipline should be up to the school system itself.
@8QBRNB75yrs5Y
Yes school truancy should not be a charge in the first place.
@8DYSJSLRepublican5yrs5Y
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.
@97X39DJ3yrs3Y
No, but only in certain circumstances
@8W4T6L8Republican4yrs4Y
in certain circumstances, yes
Yes, but only for students, not parents.
@8Q973B6Republican5yrs5Y
No, but penalties should be less severe
@8FJH78D5yrs5Y
@97876C33yrs3Y
Yes, but leave it up to the states.
@9725NDH3yrs3Y
Yes, depending on the circumstance.
@8DYCYVZ5yrs5Y
Yes but offer more social services to repeat offenders
@8DWQ5C65yrs5Y
Yes, decriminalize at the federal level.
@8DGDGGV5yrs5Y
Yes. Students in poverty suffer from truancy more than middle class or wealthy students. Criminalizing truancy sets students up for failure. Instead school districts need to hire more case/ social workers to find out what is going on at home that leads to a child’s truancy.
@8QFD7JG5yrs5Y
It should entirely depend on the circumstance and reason behind truancy.
@8FJ6TQS5yrs5Y
@9BM25MV2yrs2Y
@98YB59S3yrs3Y
No, skipping school is never going to be decriminalized. But I do think schools should implement mental health days whereas students have up to 10 mental health days they can use per semester. Teachers will offer support for those that didn't receive instructions to do certain assignments if they were not there on a certain day.
@8WGJZB24yrs4Y
No, but it depends on the situation
@B6PGH2V 5 days5D
yes, I feel that. It is unfair to the students if their absences are out of their control or if it’s out of their parent control.
@B6PG4X55 days5D
The parents should be held accountable for their children. But at the same time, this also include situations where the child is heavily injured such as a coma or a life-threatening illness.
@B6NX8XW6 days6D
I know students being at school is how they get their funding, but if a student it straight A's or maybe a high B then I feel they should be able to miss more because they don't seem to need the extra time.
@B6NTJHG6 days6D
Somewhat, kids can miss days for a maltitude of reasons, and the parent should not always be found liable for those actions.
@B3VGV2T 6 days6D
There is a growing consensus that governments should reduce or decriminalize school truancy, as it often stems from complex issues like poverty or lack of support rather than deliberate parental intent. While truancy laws exist, many districts prioritize restorative approaches and community-based solutions over punitive measures, recognizing that the juvenile justice system is ill-equipped to address the underlying problems leading to chronic absenteeism. Proposals like California's Assembly Bill 461 aim to support families and divert students from the justice system by investing in soci… Read more
@B6NMVXNRepublican1wk1W
Yes, it's completely unethical to criminalize something as trivial as skipping school; however, kids should still be penalized for truancy in some way or another.
@B6LZ98PIndependent2wks2W
Yes, but only if it's not because the school truant is a victim of abuse which is why they committed the truancy.
@RWM1999Republican 2wks2W
Yes, students should be subject to truancy prevention programs, like counseling and community service
I feel like yes but to a certain extent, yes kids should go to school but kids have their own life outside of school and school isn't work. Yet kids shouldn't be missing weeks f school just because, school should still be relevant to children.
@B6LF8FYProgressive2wks2W
Yes, but standards of what truancy is should be better defined, considering mental and physical health issues.
@B6L86JX2wks2W
I do think decriminalizing of it (and many things low income families face) is important, but I do think there needs to be some sort of implementation of accountability of attendance.
@B6L6K942wks2W
Yes for students, but parents should be liable for negligence if they are withholding their child from school
@B6L4X2M2wks2W
Only if students have hardships getting to class like poverty, distance, and lack of transportation.
@B6KSLBX2wks2W
It depends as some students couldn't get to school on time due to challenges like distance, poverty, or lack of transport.
@B6KHHKR2wks2W
Yes, unless the student committed a crime during their period of truancy. Cause some students may be jerks on purpose by missing school, and they may not be good people, but that doesn't mean they should go to jail because they missed school. God!
@B6KGB832wks2W
Yes, but there should be penalties for non compliance of attendance. You need to prove that your child is enrolled and attending some type of accepted school. Public, private or home.
@B6KBZDJ2wks2W
Yes if Guardians can show proof of appropriate developmental and academic education public or otherwise.
@B6JK3L32wks2W
students are required not to miss school for more than 10 days in semester. Failure to comply, students and parents will face court and fines.
@B6JJ5FX2wks2W
No, unless the student is experiencing stress or pain that the school or teachers ignore because of their own ignorance or arrogance.
@B6JB3GX3wks3W
yes. as long as the parents are informed of his child's activities outside class..then it should be allowed to skip school..but push for online education as well to prevent absence from being an excuse to don't learn
@B6J8X7D3wks3W
Truancy should not be a crime but it should be taken seriously and the reasons behind the truancy should be investigated.
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