Why aren’t your kids in school? Kentucky has a truancy problem. See how bad it is.

By Valarie Honeycutt Spears

September 24, 2017 11:30 AM

Kentucky parents, your kids have a serious school attendance problem.

Consider this your collective note from the principal’s office. And then consider these astounding stats:

▪ In the 2015-2016 school year, more than 60 percent of Kentucky students were truant, and approximately 40 percent of students met the definition for being habitually truant, according to a recent Kentucky Office of Education Accountability study. Under Kentucky law, a student with three unexcused absences in a school year is considered truant. Under the law, a student who has been tardy without a valid excuse on three or more days, is also considered truant. Any student who has been reported as a truant two or more times is a habitual truant, a classification that can trigger a Kentucky school district to file a complaint with the state court system.

Last updated on September 25, 2017.