School is mandatory and required by law in Arkansas and failure to attend school or be home schooled in Arkansas can result in criminal action against the parents and even the child.
In Arkansas the child must attend either regular school or be home schooled until they are at least 17 years of age.
Excessive absences are defined as 2 or more occurrences of unexcused absences in a 30 day period which will result in disciplinary action.
For example when a student has had ten (10) unexcused absences in a school year, the student is identified as a Habitual Truant and the student's attendance records will be flagged (HT).
Chronic absenteeism means missing too much school—for any reason—excused or unexcused.
Experts and a growing number of states define chronic absenteeism as missing 10% (or around 18 days) during a school year.
Students who miss more than 18 days of school are less proficient in reading, writing and math compared to their peers with good attendance.
The average school year for most schools across the country is 180 days long, which means that a chronically absent student typically misses at least 18 days of school or at least two days per month.
The most common reason for chronic absenteeism is illnesses or injuries which render the child unable to attend school normally.
While unavoidable, the child and their parents should try their best to minimize the chances of illnesses and accidents as much as they can.
Attending school is mandatory until you reach 18 years of age and not attending school can get you as a student and your parents in trouble.
Parents that actively help kids skip school or don't make their kids go to school can face jail time as well.