25 percent of the US population of children go to school in the US.
The other percentage of children in the US are usually being home schooled.
An estimated 244 million kids don't go to school in the US although the majority of those kids are home schooled instead.
If you don't send your kids to school or at least home school the child then you can face jail time, fines, have social and child services step in and even have your child taken away from you and put into foster care.
You can be charged with child neglect if you fail to send your child to school or force them to have an education through home schooling.
What actually happens and the actual penalties for not sending your child to school can vary from state to state and from location to location as laws can differ in different states and countries on school attendance.
If a child doesn't go to school then the parent can face fines as well as possible jail time and even have their child taken away or at least have children services step in and show up at your house.
By law children must attend school or be home schooled and failing to do so can get the parents into serious trouble.
In America you can miss up to 10 days of school year unless they are excused or you have to miss the days for medical appointments or other extreme circumstances.
If you miss 5 days of school then your parents or legal guardians will be notified and social services may also intervene and the parents may face criminal charges or civil penalties.
For purposes of determining chronic absenteeism the legislation allows up to 5 excused absences and additional absences for medical appointments, religious holidays and other specific circumstances if the student has an approved form of documentation like a signed note from a doctor or parent or guardian.
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.