20 | School Bells, Jail Cells, and Student Absenteeism

When can parents be criminally prosecuted for failing to send their kids to school? What role do teachers and administrators play in addressing school non-attendance and truancy? In this episode, we’re cutting class to dive into the murky waters of student absenteeism with the case of the State of Missouri v. Williams. While truancy cases don’t really grab the headlines like student protests (or the state of Florida), they do prompt us to think pretty hard about those fundamental questions regarding the role of the state in education and family life. Missing school can come with a hefty price tag. From school bells to jail cells, truancy is anything but trivial. We also discuss the emerging and pressing issue of AI deepfakes in schools. --- We're building a Teaching Guide! Check it out here. We'd also greatly appreciate it if you would consider showing your support for Chalk and Gavel by becoming a subscriber on Patreon. Your support will help us keep delivering the education law content you want to hear! https://www.patreon.com/chalkandgavel Keywords: Truancy, Chronic Absenteeism, Compulsory Attendance, State Law, Criminal Law, Artificial Intelligence, Deepfakes