The historiographical tradition which developed within the history of education from the 1970s regarded religious organisations as distractions from the "real" task of developing state-funded universal compulsory education. Despite more positive evaluations of voluntary agencies within the history of social policy, since the 1980s, the…

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…

"Straight A's: Public Education Policy and Progress" is a biweekly newsletter that focuses on education news and events both in Washington, DC and around the country. The following articles are included in this issue: (1) Let's Get Digital: First-Ever National Digital Learning Day Attracts Participation from Thirty-Nine States, 19,000…

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…

Examines truancy characteristics, effective attendance policies, and workable attendance enforcement and remediation programs. One school district threatens habitual truants' parents with court action leading to fines and jail sentences. A worthy goal is encouraging both students and parents to take compulsory education statutes seriously. (MLH)

The importance of school attendance in relation to achievement, engagement, and educational success has been well researched and documented. As a result, the general philosophy is that the more time students are in school, the better chance they have to be personally and academically successful. Students miss school for myriad reasons. While some…

The National League of Compulsory Education Officials, beginning with its 13th annual convention in 1923 and ending with the 30th annual convention in 1940, published annual proceedings of each convention. This article includes both a topic and presenter index and a summary of the 1935 and 1941 annual conventions, based on newspaper articles, for…

One of the South Carolina Department of Education's foremost responsibilities is to initiate attendance improvement programs. Among the services offered to carry out this responsibility is assistance to attendance personnel in developing professional approaches to absenteeism. This guide contains information on the role and function of attendance…

In recent years, provincial laws in Alberta, Canada, have required children of certain ages to attend school. A legal issue related to attendance that is seldom addressed in provincial legislation is the definition of nonattendance. Many jurisdictions in the United States offer statutory definitions of truancy that range from 3 to 10 days' absence…

The formulation of effective compulsory attendance laws has been one of the problems confronting legislators and school officials for the past 70 years. The most marked advance in enacting such laws has been made since 1890. Prior to that date only 27 States and the District of Columbia had compulsory laws, and many of these were inoperative. Now…

In the United States, education is not only free and public, but it is compulsory in all continental United States and in its principal outlying parts. The aim in this study is to present in a summary manner what appear to be the most interesting legislative features of compulsory education systems in the various States: (1) When did the States…

Legal questions relating to secondary education continue to be prolific. Two influences principally affect this situation, namely: (1) the dynamic and progressive nature of education; and (2) vague and chaotic conditions of laws affecting secondary schools. With respect to the first of these influences, no valid objections or modifications have…

The school legislation of the two-year period here under review comprises the most recent enactments of all the States, since all legislatures met within the period, and six States--Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New York, New Jersey, South Carolina, and Georgia--whose lawmakers meet annually, held two meetings of their respective legislative…

Within the biennial period here under review, 47 States held regular meetings of their legislative assemblies, and a few extraordinary sessions were called by governors. The lawmakers of six States--Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New York, New Jersey, South Carolina, and Georgia--meet annually, and those of all others except Alabama meet biennially.…