Educational Neglect

Stearns County Attorney
County Attorney: Janelle P. Kendall

A Message from Stearns County Attorney Janelle Kendall

School attendance is mandatory in the State of Minnesota for good reason -- children cannot achieve success without the benefits of education. Unfortunately, educational neglect robs children of potential and leads to disastrous consequences including criminal activity, drug use, and teenage pregnancy. Research documents that a community's response to truancy and educational neglect must be immediate, proactive, and thorough.

That is why the Stearns County Attorney’s Office with Stearns County Human Services has established the Truancy Mediation Program (TMP). The TMP is based on extensive research and includes components from successful statewide and national truancy programs. Working collaboratively with families, social workers, school professionals, and other community members, the TMP aims to stop truancy in its tracks by incorporating the entire community into the solution to end educational neglect and truancy.

A child's first years of school are extremely important. All children deserve the opportunity to obtain a solid education to ensure preparedness for the future. The greater a family's commitment to a child's education, the greater likelihood a child will stay clear from harmful at risk activities. For these reasons, the TMP is designed to immediately respond to educational neglect, proactively identify barriers to a child’s school attendance, and thoroughly implement an individualized intervention that provides appropriate incentives and penalties.

A family's commitment to education is extremely important - important to the child’s success, and important for the success of the whole community!

Click to view an informational Video on
Educational Neglect

School Attendance is the Law

Minnesota law recognizes the importance of school attendance and requires all children between ages 7 and 18 to attend school. Children under age 7 who are enrolled in school are also subject to Minnesota's compulsory attendance law. It is a parent's legal responsibility to enroll their children in school in accordance with Minnesota law. For children under the age of 12, parents are legally charged with making sure that their children attend school unless lawfully excused.

Parents often have questions about when a child can legally miss school.

Examples of excused absences include:

Sickness
Medical or Mental Health Appointments
Religious Holidays
Extreme Family Emergency

Examples of unexcused absences include:

Missing the bus
Oversleeping
Cold weather
Babysitting
Need to sleep for work

Parents are encouraged to consult with schools and ask questions about a school’s attendance policy.

CONSEQUENCES TO PARENTS FOR EDUCATIONAL NEGLECT:

Minnesota law requires that a school send written notice to parents when a child has missed more than three full days of elementary school or three or more class periods on three days if the child is in middle or junior high school. School officials may also require a meeting with a parent to discuss the reasons behind absences and to assist parents in finding a solution to the attendance problem. A school may also evaluate what are contributing factors to a student’s absences and offer appropriate services or make a referral to another community based agency.

In Minnesota, a child under the age of 12 is considered truant if they miss a total of 7 unexcused days in a school year. When this occurs, a school is legally required to make an educational neglect report to the Stearns County Family and Children’s Services Division. When this occurs, Human Services will screen the report for a Child Protection Family Assessment or a Child Maltreatment Investigation. At the completion of the assessment and investigation, a Truancy Diversion Conference Contract will be explained to a parent/guardian. When a parent/guardian signs the contract, Human Services will send the school and the Stearns County Attorney’s Office notification that the contract has been signed.

If the assessment/investigation results in a finding of educational neglect, the case may be open for either: voluntary services to the family, or referral to the County Attorney’s Office for legal action in juvenile court. Legal action can and usually does result in a court order directing the parents to take appropriate action to ensure regular school attendance. If a child’s attendance does not improve, a parent may face a more severe legal consequence. For the most egregious cases, a court may order a child’s legal custody be transferred to Human Services to address concerns about educational neglect.