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School Attendance and Truancy
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| Juvenile Truancy
Truancy is the willful or unjustified failure by a minor to attend school.
- Any peace officer or school administrator may issue a citation to a minor requiring him or her to appear in Juvenile Court if he or she violates the truancy laws.
- Truancy is an offense punishable by the Juvenile Court under the provisions of Welfare and Institutions Code Section 601.
- If a minor does not go to school, he or she can be:
- prosecuted for truancy,
- assigned a probation officer,
- given a curfew by the judge,
- required to do volunteer / community work,
- required to pay a fine.
- If a minor continues to be truant after the judge orders him or her to go to school, he or she can be sent to Juvenile Hall.
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| Truancy Diversion Program
As an alternative to the filing of a 601 petition, a minor may be given the opportunity to voluntarily participate in a truancy diversion program. The truancy diversion calendar is held the first Friday of the month at 1:30pm in Department 10 of the North County Branch. The remaining Friday calendars are held in Meadow Lark at 1:30pm in Department 4.
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| School Attendance Review Board (SARB)
The law requires parents to send their children between the ages of 6 and 18 to school. If they fail to do so, they can be brought before the School Attendance Review Board.
If a minor continues to be truant, the District Attorney's Office can prosecute his or her parent for contributing to the delinquency of a minor, a misdemeanor which carries a penalty upon conviction.
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