School attendance is very important and there are a range of consequences children and parents face when they miss school.
Legal Consequences
If students miss school for reasons other than the five legal reasons, the school is required by law to report this to the Ramsey County Attorneys Office which will result in a referral to the Truancy Intervention Program. There are two different Truancy Intervention Program options, depending on the age of the child.
- Family Truancy Intervention Program (FTIP) for children 11 years old and younger
- Truancy Intervention Program (TIP) for children 12 years old and older
Academic Consequences
Children who miss school can quickly fall behind their classmates academically. Every day in school is important because lessons often build on each other. For example, a child who is absent during an introduction to fractions may struggle with the concept of fractions as math get more complex. It is hard to study for a science test if you missed several days of science.
Research shows that children who struggle with core subjects, such as reading and math in first grade, showed higher risk for negative self-beliefs and depression as they enter middle school.
Social Consequences
Children who miss a lot of school may feel left out at school. They won’t have the same shared experiences as their classmates and may have a hard time following what is going on in the classroom. Missing field trips or recess time may affect their ability to make friends at school.
Financial Consequences
Children who miss a lot of school, often end up dropping out before graduation. Researchers estimate that High School graduates earn $1,000,000 more in their lifetime than other who didn’t graduate. As these annual average income figures show, the future is dimmer without a high school diploma.
- $18,734 high school drop-out
- $27, 915 high school graduate
- $51,206 college graduate
Education pays!
Click here for an explanation of consequences for kids over 12, in Spanish.
Click here for an explanation of consequences for kids 11 years old and younger, in Spanish.
- Array