Can You Go to Jail If Your Kids Don't Go to School?

The answer is, yes, but not always (and hopefully truancy doesn't get to that point!). The Colorado School Attendance Law requires that each child between the ages of 7 and 17 shall attend public school unless otherwise excused. It is the obligation of every parent to ensure that every child under the parent’s care and supervision between the ages of 7 and 17 be incompliance with this statute.

In the St. Vrain Valley School District, "If a student is absent without a parent/guardian excuse or if the student leaves school or a class without permission of the teacher or administrator in charge, the student shall be considered truant. A 'habitual truant' shall be defined as a student of compulsory attendance age who has four unexcused absences from school or from class in any one month or 10 unexcused absences during any school year. Absences due to suspension or expulsion shall not be counted in the total of unexcused absences." (Code of Conduct and Discipline and Board of Education Policies, Rights and Responsibilities of Students and Parents, www.stvrain.k12.co.us/parents/disciplineConduct.php).

Each school has its own policy and procedure to handle truant and habitually truant students. At two schools in which Alternatives for Youth's staff work with habitually truant students, the process is as follows:

1. Parents receive a phone call about their child's truancy.
2. If there is no response, the parents receive a letter about setting up a meeting with the appropriate school personnel, possibly to include the school principal and attendance officer and/or Alternatives for Youth's community advocate, to review and evaluate the reasons for the student being habitually truant. If there is no response, a meeting time is set and parents are expected to attend.
3. During the meeting, a plan is developed for a student who is declared habitually truant with the goal of assisting the child to remain in school. When feasible, the child's parent, guardian or legal custodian participate with district personnel during the development of the plan. Appropriate school personnel make all reasonable efforts to meet with the parent, guardian or legal custodian to review and evaluate the reasons for the child's truancy.
4. If the plan is followed and students are no longer habitually truant, no further action is required. If the plan is not followed, the parent and student are referred to court for mediation with Judge Cole. During mediation, a plan is formed for the student to get back on track and a hearing date is set for follow-up.
5. If the plan is followed and students are found to be no longer habitually truant at the hearing, no further action is required. If the plan is not followed, either the parent(s) or student may serve jail time, depending on the court findings.

Truancy may seem like a "light" issue and jail time an extreme consequence; however, truancy is a risk factor for other problems, including warning signs of students headed for potential delinquent activity, social isolation, or educational failure via suspension, expulsion, or dropping out; and evidence of a lack of commitment to school, which has been established by several studies as a risk factor for substance abuse, delinquency, teen pregnancy, and school dropout. (www.schoolengagement.org/TruancypreventionRegistry/Admin/Resources/Resources/40.pdf)

As a parent, it is worth the time and effort to encourage your children to attend school. If you are a student, do all you can to go to school. Seek out resources if you need help - a great place to start is at your school. Extreme cases can end in jail time for parents or students.