truancy

Truancy is any intentional, unauthorised, and/or legally debatable absence from compulsory education. It is a deliberate absence by a student's own free will and usually does not refer to legitimate excused absences, such as ones related to medical conditions. Truancy is usually explicitly defined in the school's handbook of policies and procedures. Attending school but not going to class is called internal truancy. Some children whose parents claim to homeschool have also been found truant in the United States.

In many countries, truancy is criminalized by law as either a criminal or a civil offense, and authorities can prosecute truant students (under the age of 18), their parents, or both. Some countries, like Canada or Australia, reserve fines for truant minors and allow for their detainment (but not arrest) while skipping school. In Russia, Germany and some parts of the U.S. police officers even have the power to handcuff and arrest truant minors on the streets during the school hours. Strict measures against truancy are usually motivated by compulsory education gaps among children and underage crime surge in big cities.