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Missouri juvenile law: Truancy affects kids and their parents

On Behalf of | Aug 25, 2017 | Juvenile Law

Every parent in Missouri is responsible for making sure that their children receive an education. This can be done in a number of ways, including enrolling in public or private schools, pursuing educational opportunities online or opting to utilize a home school option. If a child misses so many days of school in a year, the child and the parent could face a number of penalties thanks to state truancy laws. A juvenile law attorney may be able to help minimize such consequences or fight to get such cases dismissed.

Truancy is not something that the state takes lightly. Truancy Court was even created to hold parents responsible for making sure their kids get to school. Parents may be sent to truancy court if their child misses 10 or more days of school without a verifiable reason.

If one receives a notice to appear in truancy court and fails to appear, a warrant may be put out for his or her arrest. Obviously, this is not a good thing. If a parent does attend the hearing and is found to be in violation of the truancy laws, he or she may be ordered to pay a fine. Current laws state that the fine is $25 for every day the child has missed school. May seem fairly insignificant, but it can add up pretty fast.

Children are punished simply by falling behind in their education; it really is the parents who will bear the legal brunt of a child being in violation of state truancy laws. Thankfully, according to the state of Missouri, parents do have the right to have legal counsel represent them during their truancy court hearings. A juvenile law attorney will be able to walk parents through truancy proceedings and help with any other legal issues that arise as a result of their child allegedly missing too much school.

Source: stlcitycircuitcourt.com, “Truancy Court”, Accessed on Aug. 24, 2017

Need help?

Connect with our law firm to schedule a consultation about your child’s truancy issue. Bill Grant is an award-winning juvenile law attorney. Call 314-492-8878.