Compulsory Schooling : The Legal Issue / John Splaine.

An examination of the school laws in the 50 states reveals that 47 have penalties that can result in forced incarceration for young people who do not attend school. In a five-year period, 341 young persons were committed to Maryland juvenile institutions for the crime of truancy. During the same time, 2,699 young people were committed to institutions because they were considered to be "Children in Need of Supervision" (CINS), which includes truants, runaways, and children deemed to be ungovernable. It is reasonable to assume that some of the people who were committed for being runaways and ungovernable have had problems with truancy. Thirty-four percent of all Maryland delinquents committed were in the CINS category. If students were not compelled to attend school, the monetary savings from truant officers and their staffs, vandalism, and incarceration of young people would be more than enough to achieve the American dream of free public education for all of our people. Further, there would be more money for compensatory and specialized educational programs that are often prohibitively expensive with the present law. (Author/RT)

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