Can Louisiana Parents Be Jailed If Their Kids Miss School?

(KMDL-FM) In just about a week, a vast majority of school-age children in Louisiana will see their long and lazy summer days come to an end. It is the time of year when school bells across Louisiana in cities such as Lafayette, Lake Charles, Breaux Bridge, Crowley, Baton Rouge, and LaPlace will be ringing in the beginning of a great new school year.

Parents across Louisiana are using these last few days of summer to pick up school supplies and go on the hunt for uniform pants and shirts. I am sure a lot of parents are busy scrambling to find a "power bill" or "utility statement" too.

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And I'd be willing to bet that more than a few parents will have a discussion about "just how high these school fees have gotten". I know that the parents of my kids have had those kinds of discussions.

In Louisiana, Are Kids Legally Required to Attend School?

Once you've gotten the kids outfitted with supplies, properly clothed, adequately fed, and prepared to learn, the only thing left for you to do is get them to attend classes. You would think that would be a no-brainer, but truancy is a large enough issue in Louisiana that there have been laws passed that hold parents responsible for their child's attendance at school.

The basic outline for truancy guidelines is this. A student is considered habitually absent or tardy if they have five unexcused absences or tardy occurrences within any given semester. In most cases, your school will contact you long before this many unexcused absences or tardy occurrences have happened.

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However, should you, as a parent, fail to respond or react to the notices sent to you by your child's school, you could be subject to fines of not more than $250 and not more than 30 days in jail. Habitual truancy can also lead to the child being declared delinquent and thus making them subject to interaction with the Juvenile Court system.

Can A School Legally Require A Doctor's Excuse For Kids to Get Back Into Class?

Evidently, a school system or school board can incorporate a legitimate doctor's note into their policy for returning to class. This is done not only as a safeguard for the health of the child who was absent. But it also helps prevent the spread of disease to other students and faculty.

Now, the rules are a little different in the workplace when it comes to doctor's notes. You can see what the law says about that, right here.