Truancy laws if you're 18

[A1436]

Jurisdiction

Arizona

due to some unfortunate occurrences in my senior year I have missed 18 total days of school. I got a letter in the mail saying if I miss one more day that I would get a court date. However, it states in the letter that it is illegal for a chile between the ages of 6-16 to not attend school. As I 18 I was wondering what the consequences are.

Btw this is an Arizona school and I am speaking specifically of theese laws.

 

[army judge]

You're an adult, mate.
Have you taken the affirmative step of assuming full responsibility for your education by requesting the school to permit you as an adult to assume full control for studies as an adult?

Truancy laws were meant to ensure minors attend school regularly.
To accomplish that goal, AZ was the first state in the union to enact tougher enforcement against truancy. This was done not to be punitive, but to make sure parents knew what their children were up to, and when the child went astry.

A little history:

Enforcing Truancy Laws - FindLaw


Truancy in AZ:

A. Every child between the ages of six and sixteen years shall attend a school and shall be provided instruction in at least the subjects of reading, grammar, mathematics, social studies and science. The person who has custody of the child shall choose a public, private or charter school or a homeschool as defined in this section to provide instruction or shall sign a contract to participate in an Arizona empowerment scholarship account pursuant to section 15-2402.
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ARS 13-3613 requires that parents not commit any acts contributing to a child's dependency or delinquency. This includes failing to send a child to school.

Contributing to the dependency or delinquency of a minor is a criminal offense. The consequences include:

A fine of up to $2500 AND
Two possible jail sentences of up to six months
If students "ditch" or don't go to school, TUSD's School Safety Officers, local police and/or sheriff's deputies will be looking for them!
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AZ truancy laws are written to protect minors, specifically those between six to age sixteen years of age.

You're a legal adult.

I suggest you work with your school's administrators to ensure you assume responsibility for education as an adult.

Once you've taken care of that bit of administrative work, you should be able to quell the issues with the court. You might also contact the court, reporting that you're a legal adult and exempt from your state's truancy statutes.





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