High truancy rates continue to plague the public school system all over the United States. Different states are working on a variety of solutions. Some states have increased the mandatory attendance age from the federally required 16-years-old to 17 or 18 years old. Other states revoke driver's licenses for habitually truant students. In some cases, parents may pay the price in jail time and fines.

Truancy can be the result of a variety of factors, from poverty to transportation issues to parents simply not realizing how much school their kids have missed. In Baltimore, some improvement has been shown after the school system files charges against a parent and the parents must go to court to discuss the issue with a judge. However, the results have not been significant enough to be seen as a solution.

Truancy is a crime based on the fact that the person is a minor and is legally required to be in school. Children and their parents may not realize when school absences have risen to the level of truancy and may not know the appropriate steps to take to get their child back in compliance with the law. Lawyers with experience in this area of the law can help parents and students obtain a fair result from any truancy charges against them.

As noted above, states have a variety of different penalties for truancy, but those results may not effectively get children back in to school permanently. An attorney who regularly handles truancy cases can help advise clients and argue for solutions that abide by the law and help get children back in to school.

Source: The Atlantic, "Will Raising School Attendance Age Lower the Dropout Rate?" Emily Richmond, Feb. 21, 2012.