Truancy

Truancy is defined as being absent from school without a valid reason. There is no charge in the Criminal Code for truancy. Instead, each province has guidelines for those who skip school that goes back to the 1800s.

According to a Statistics Canada (Canadian Compulsory School Laws and their Impact on Educational Attainment [PDF]) report, Ontario took the first step of introducing compulsory school laws in 1871. At that time, parents could be fined if their children failed to attend school for at least four months a year. Most other provinces introduced compulsory attendance before 1910.

As well as laws enforcing compulsory schooling, many provinces introduced child labour legislation in the late 1800s designed to protect children from working under excessive conditions rather than to encourage learning in school.

Children between the age of six and 18 (depending on the province or territory) are expected to attend school regularly. According to many educators, persistent absenteeism jeopardizes a child’s education. There was a time when truant officers were employed to seek out abusers and escort them back to class. However, while it is still possible to face fines, it is more likely the students who habitually cut class will be called into the school with their parents to discuss the issue.

While the concept of the need for children to attend school is the same throughout Canada, the way truancy is enforced depends on the jurisdiction. 

Schools are expected to keep attendance records. Educators will attempt to identify the barriers to the student's regular attendance and determine the support and resources available to help the student regularly attend school. In some cases, such as in British Columbia, an elementary school student with five or more excused absences in a single month or a secondary student who misses 20 or more blocks in a single month will be called into a meeting with their parent or guardian.

In Ontario, the education ministry defines persistent absenteeism as "any student who has missed 10 percent or more of school days for any reason, including unexcused or excused absences, over an academic year." That threshold, about 19 days, is generally observed across the country. Ontario high school students risk losing their driver's licence for skipping school.

Acceptable reasons include:

• being home-schooled;
• religious holiday;
• family emergency;
• serving a school suspension or expulsion;
• if you are ill or receiving medical treatment.

A parent or guardian of a student required to attend school who neglects or refuses to fulfill that duty may be fined under provincial law. These are provincial education-act offences, not Criminal Code charges. In Ontario, for example, a parent or guardian can face a fine of not more than $200 under section 30(1) of the Education Act for neglecting or refusing to make a child attend school. That offence does not apply once the child is 16 or older. Fine amounts and rules vary by province and are subject to change, so parents should confirm current figures with their provincial education ministry.

In Alberta, a parent can be fined up to $100 a day for every day of missed school, to a maximum of $1,000. These fines are imposed by an Attendance Board under section 49 of Alberta's Education Act.

Depending on the province, students could also fail a class due to chronic absenteeism. In Nova Scotia, provincial policy requires students to be present for at least 80 percent of class time. A teacher can recommend loss of credit when a student has missed 20 percent of class time due to absences, even if that student is receiving a passing grade.

Punishment and legal requirements dealing with school attendance are set by the education ministries in each province or territory. Fine amounts and rules vary and are subject to change.

Truancy is dealt with under provincial education law, not the Criminal Code.

In many cases, the first consequences are school meetings, attendance supports, warnings, or provincial offence processes. Fines or court orders may be possible in some provinces. The exact consequences depend on the province.

This page cannot tell you what will happen in a specific case. If you are facing an attendance-related charge or court process, you should speak with a lawyer in your province.

"Truancy court" is a common search term, but Canada does not usually use that exact name. What people are often describing is a provincial process that can include a meeting at the school, a referral to an attendance counsellor or board, and, in some provinces, a hearing or a fine under the Education Act.

The steps, the names, and the possible consequences differ by province. Some provinces focus on support and getting the child back to school before any penalty is considered.

This page is not about a Criminal Code charge against a young person. These rules usually come from provincial law, school law, liquor law, civil liability law, or local enforcement systems. The YCJA sentencing rules for Criminal Code youth offences do not apply in the same way.

Truancy is not a Criminal Code offence. School attendance rules come from provincial and territorial education laws. Consequences, if any, depend on the province, the student’s age, the parent or guardian’s duties, and the local school process.

Some provinces can impose consequences on parents or guardians in specific school-attendance situations, but the rules and amounts vary by province.