It’s illegal for police to fine Illinois students for truancy, but it still happens. Here’s how schools are trying to make truancy less punitive.

More than 1 in 5 students in Illinois were chronically truant last year. That means they missed over 5% of the year without a valid excuse. It’s illegal for Illinois school districts to refer students to local law enforcement to be punished with a fine for truancy. The law changed back in 2019.