Student Attendance/Truancy

Student Attendance/Truancy

* Student Attendance/Truancy

  • SOUTH CAROLINA COMPULSORY SCHOOL ATTENDANCE ACT - Section 59-65-10. All parents or guardians shall cause their children or wards to attend regularly a public or private school or kindergarten of this State which has been approved by the State Board of Education or a member of the South Carolina Independent Schools’ Association or some similar organization, or a parochial, denominational, or church-related school, or other programs which have been approved by the State Board of Education from the school year in which the child or ward is five years of age before September first until the child or ward attains his seventeenth birthday or graduates from high school.
  • THE LAW - The parent(s) or guardian(s) is determined to be the “custodian” of the student under the Code of Laws of South Carolina in accordance with the rules and regulations set forth herein above, and the student’s non-attendance, whether such non-attendance shall be voluntary or shall result from expulsion or suspension because of the student’s behavior, shall constitute behavior injurious to the student’s welfare and shall be evidence that the student is beyond the control of his parents or other custodian and shall subject the student to commitment under the Family Court Act whether voluntarily absent, suspended or expelled notwithstanding the provisions of the South Carolina Code.
  • What is truancy? South Carolina Regulations define truancy as follows: “A child 6-17 years of age meets definition of truancy when the child has three consecutive unlawful absences or a total of five unlawful absences."
  • Information on Truancy & Educational Neglect -

    https://sc.edu/study/colleges_schools/law/centers/childrens_law/publications_and_resources/truancy_intervention_guide/educational_neglect_vs_truancy/index.php