Editing Truancy (section)

=== United Kingdom ===
In [[England and Wales]], truancy is a criminal offense for parents if the child concerned is registered at school.<ref>S.7 Education act 1996</ref> Truancy laws do not apply to children educated at home or otherwise under Section 7 of the [[Education Act 1996]]. Since the passage of the [[Criminal Justice and Court Services Act 2000]], parents of persistent truants may be imprisoned for up to three months.<ref>[[Criminal Justice and Court Services Act 2000]], §72</ref><ref name="TruancyTimeline">{{Cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/7851787.stm|title=Truancy timeline: 1997–2009 |publisher=BBC News|date=11 February 2009}}</ref> In 2002, the first parent was imprisoned under this provision.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/7880936.stm|title=Jailing parents: What happened next?|date=12 February 2009|publisher=BBC News}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/oxfordshire/3561655.stm|title=Truancy mother sent to jail again|publisher=BBC Newsdate|date=23 March 2004}}</ref>

Since 1998, a police officer of or above the rank of superintendent may direct that for a specified time in a specified area a police officer may remove a child believed to be absent from a school without authority to that school or to another designated place. However, this is neither a power of arrest nor a power to detain, and it does not make truancy a criminal offense.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ERORecords/HO/421/2/cdact/truancy.htm |title=Electronic Records Online |publisher=Nationalarchives.gov.uk |access-date=2012-01-21}}</ref> A warning is issued to parents following the first instance of truancy, but for subsequent events, the parents are assessed a fine of at least £50. Some charities have highlighted an increasing prevalence of truancy among impoverished girls during [[menstruation]], especially among girls who do not have easy access to sanitary products.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/society/2017/mar/17/girls-from-poorer-families-in-england-struggle-to-afford-sanitary-protection|title=Girls from poorer families in England struggle to afford sanitary protection|last=Marsh|first=Sarah|date=2017-03-17|work=The Guardian|access-date=2019-01-30|language=en-GB|issn=0261-3077}}</ref>