School Attendance
La. R.S. 17:221 — a child from age five through eighteen attends school, or an approved home study program
A parent or legal guardian sends a child who is five, by September thirtieth of the year the school year begins, through eighteen to a public or nonpublic school, unless the child graduates first or enrollment of a younger child was deferred.
- A child in an approved home study program counts as attending.
- A school notifies the parent when a child has been absent five school days in a semester school.
- A school board may not refuse readmission because a student withdrew or is pregnant.
- A child under eighteen who drops out or is habitually absent may lose driving privileges under a school board policy.
A parent who violates the attendance requirement may be fined up to $250, jailed up to thirty days, or both, with probation that can include forty hours of school or community service.
Sources for this section (1)
- La. R.S. 17:221 — School attendance; compulsory ages; duty of parents; excessive absences; condition for driving privileges
Legal information, not legal advice. Verified as of October 2026. Applying it to a particular situation is the work of a licensed Louisiana attorney.