In Germany, penalties such as fines or police action are imposed for noncompliance with compulsory schooling. However, formal administrative procedures are often deemed inadequate by experts who advocate for school-wide multidimensional support in addressing school absenteeism. We analyze guidance documents of different federal states, examining…

In 2013, changes to the regulations regarding school absences meant that head teachers could no longer authorise term-time holidays. As a consequence of this parents who wish to take their children on holiday during term-time are now liable for a fixed penalty notice. This policy has been the subject of a number of legal challenges, most notably…

This study considers the issue of absenteeism in Norwegian high schools with a particular focus on the new controversial 10% ceiling, which began in August 2016. Data was obtained through documentary sources and participant observation in one high school with one of the highest absenteeism rates in the capital, Oslo. Employing Foucault's 'panoptic…

This paper examines attendance accounting policies and practices for students enrolled in public schools in Texas and in alternative schools of choice (ASC) in particular. Technology advancement allows students to complete their coursework virtually anywhere they have internet access; however, conventional state attendance policies still require…

Over the past decade, SREB state policy-makers have focused on actions to reduce dropout rates and increase high school graduation rates. Some policy-makers have suggested that raising their state's compulsory attendance age (often called the dropout age) to require students to stay in school until age 17 or 18 is an important step. However,…

In 2009, the North Dakota legislature passed SB 2217, which lowered the penalty for truancy from a felony to an infraction for a first offense and a class B misdemeanor for a second or subsequent offense. Additionally, the legislature required the North Dakota Department of Public Instruction (DPI) to convene a workgroup to further study truancy…

The primary objective of this article is to see if and how attendance policy influences class attendance in undergraduate-level principles of macroeconomics classes. The second objective, which is related to the first, is to examine whether the nature of the attendance policy matters in terms of its impact on class attendance behavior. The results…

President Barack Obama's call for every state to require school attendance until age 18 may spark a flurry of action in some statehouses, but changing attendance laws will do little by itself to drive down the nation's dropout rates, experts on the issue say. In his State of the Union address last month, President Obama said states should require…

What is the mandatory age of attendance in each of the states? Specifically, what is the age at which a student may leave school with or without parental consent, and what if any caveats or requirements are attached to dropping out? To answer these questions, the Regional Educational Laboratory Southeast (REL-SE) staff conducted a Google search…

The South Africa Schools Act requires every child to "attend school from the first school day of the year in which such learner reaches the age of seven years until the last day of the year in which such learner reaches the age of 15 years or the ninth grade, whichever comes first" (Republic of South Africa, 1996). This paper addresses…

Summarizes the current debate on the advantages and disadvantages of 12 years of compulsory education for students. (Author/DN)

Last winter the National Commission on the Reform of Secondary Education concluded that "If a high school is not to be a custodial institution, the State must not force adolescents to attend. Earlier maturity -- physical, sexual and intellectual -- requires an option of earlier departure from the restraints of formal schooling." The Commission…

An examination of the school laws in the 50 states reveals that 47 have penalties that can result in forced incarceration for young people who do not attend school. In a five-year period, 341 young persons were committed to Maryland juvenile institutions for the crime of truancy. During the same time, 2,699 young people were committed to…

Compulsory attendance is desirable, according to the author, for the good of society and the individual, not for the good of the educational establishment. He lists five "wrong" reasons for compulsory student attendance. (Author/DS)