Truancy

Definition of a Truant

The California Legislature defined a truant in very precise language. In summary, it states that a student missing more than 30 minutes of instruction without an excuse three times during the school year must be classified as a truant and reported to the proper school authority. This classification and referral help emphasize the importance of school attendance and is intended to help minimize interference with instruction. Effective January 1, 2013, the law was amended to authorize school administrators to excuse school absences due to the pupil’s circumstances, even if the excuse is not one of the valid excuses listed in the California Education Code (EC) or the uniform standards established by the governing board of the district.

EC Section 48260
(Amended by Statutes 2012, Chapter 432, Section 1. [Assembly Bill 2616] Effective January 1, 2013.)

Reasons for Excused Absences

EC Section 48205
(Amended by Statutes 2023, Chapter 846, Section 1.5 [AB 1503] Effective January 1, 2024.)

Definition of a Chronic Truant

EC Section 48263.6
(Added by Statutes 2010, Chapter 647, Section 1. [Senate Bill 1317] Effective January 1, 2011.)

First Notification Mandate

In addition to the reporting requirement, the law states that the school district must notify the parent or guardian of the truant by the most cost-effective method possible, and that the notification must include specific information related to the student's unexcused absences.

EC Section 48260.5
(Amended by Statutes 2022, Chapter 301, Section 10. [SB 1057] Effective January 1, 2023.)

Habitual Truant Mandate

The law further requires that after a student has been reported as a truant three or more times in one school year and after an appropriate school employee has made a conscientious effort to hold at least one meeting with the parent and the student, the student is deemed a habitual truant. The intent is to provide solutions for students who failed to respond to the normal avenues of school intervention, and the most cost-effective method possible should be used to notify the parent or guardian about the meeting at the school.

EC Section 48262
(Amended by Statutes 2010, Chapter 724, Section 22. [AB 1610] Effective October 19, 2010.)

Interventions

When a student is a habitual truant, or is irregular in attendance at school, or is habitually insubordinate or disorderly during school, the student may be referred to a school attendance review board (SARB) or to the county probation department pursuant to EC Section 48263. The student may also be referred to a probation officer or district attorney mediation program pursuant to EC Section 48263.5. The intent of these laws is to provide intensive guidance to meet the special needs of students with school attendance problems or school behavior problems pursuant to EC Section 48320. These interventions are designed to divert students with serious attendance and behavioral problems from the juvenile justice system and to reduce the number of students who drop out of school.

Referral to School Attendance Review Board

EC Section 48263
(Amended by Statutes 2020, Chapter 323, Section 2. [AB 901] Effective January 1, 2021.)

Penalties (Student)

The law provides schools and school districts with discretion regarding student penalties for truancy as long as they are consistent with state law. The penalties for truancy for students defined in EC Section 48264.5 become progressively severe from the first time a truancy report is required through the fourth time a truancy report is required.

EC Section 48264.5
(Amended by Statutes 2022, Chapter 301, Section 11. [SB 1057] Effective January 1, 2023.)

California Education Code Penalties (Parent)

Penalties against parents apply when any parent, guardian, or other person having control or charge of any student fails to compel the student to attend school. The penalties against parents in EC Section 48293(a) become progressively severe with a second and third conviction.

EC Section 48293
(Amended by Statutes 2006, Chapter 273, Section 1. Effective September 14, 2006.)

California Penal Code Penalties (Parent)

In addition to the penalties for parents in EC Section 48293, California Penal Code Section 270.1 is effective January 1, 2011, and provides penalties for a parent or guardian of a pupil of six years of age or more who is in kindergarten or any of the grades from one to eight.

California Penal Code Section 270.1
(Added by Statutes 2010, Chapter 647, Section 2. [SB 1317] Effective January 1, 2011.)

Certification of District Supervisors of Attendance

EC Section 48245
(Enacted by Statutes 1976, Chapter 1010.)

Investigation of School Attendance Complaints

EC Section 48290
(Enacted by Statutes 1976, Chapter 1010.)

Criminal Complaints against Parents

EC Section 48291
(Amended by Statutes 1980, Chapter 1329, Section 7.)

Filing and Prosecution of Complaints by Attendance Supervisors

EC Section 48292
(Enacted by Statutes 1976, Chapter 1010.)

Challenging the Content of an Inaccurate Record of Truancy

EC Section 49070
(Amended by Statutes 2019, Chapter 179, Section 2. [AB 711] Effective January 1, 2020.)

Truancy Rate

The truancy rate of a school is determined by the number of students in a school who are classified as truants pursuant to EC Section 48260 during the school year compared to the cumulative enrollment of the school.

Publications

• Attorney General's Truancy Hub
  This web page focuses on the critical importance of addressing truancy in the elementary grades.
  
  
• Attorney General's Truancy Toolkit
  This toolkit describes the collaborative tools used by key partners to keep children in school.