NC Mom Arrested, Jailed for Child's Truancy
42 year old Elizabeth Marie McKeithan is spending 15 days in jail because her child missed school.
This is not a simple case of a child pretending to be ill in order to get out of class. It is a misdemeanor crime for a parent to allow his or her child to miss school without good reason, such as a legitimate illness. The law only applies to children younger than 16. McKeithan's child, who was not named due to age, missed 11 days of school. She had already been placed on probation because of her kid's truancy, and she was not jailed until she violated the probation agreement.
McKeithan will be spending her sentence in the Brunswick County jail. Truancy cases are rarely brought to court, but parents should be aware of the potential consequences of allowing their children to miss school. Parents may be found negligent if they either knowingly let their kids be absent from school or if they do not notice that their child is not attending school.
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