As authorized in W.S.A. s. 118.163, this chapter is enacted to prohibit
truancy and habitual truancy and to authorize the court to suspend operating
privileges of school dropouts.
A. Truancy.
(1) It shall be unlawful for any person under the age of
18 to be a truant.
(2) "Truant" means a pupil who is absent from school for
part or all of any day on which school is held during the semester without
an acceptable excuse under W.S.A. ss. §§ 118.15 and 118.16(4).
(3) If a person is found to have been a truant, the court
may impose any or all of the dispositions described in W.S.A. s. 118.163(1m).
B. Habitual truancy.
(1) It shall be unlawful for any person under the age of
18 to be a habitual truant.
(2) "Habitual truant" is defined in W.S.A. s. 118.16(1)(a)
as a pupil who is absent from school for part or all of five or more days
on which school is held during a semester without an acceptable excuse under
W.S.A. ss. 118.15 and 118.16(4).
(3) If a person is found to have been a habitual truant,
the court may impose any or all of the dispositions described in W.S.A. s.
118.163(2).
C. School dropout.
(1) The court may suspend the operating privilege [(as defined
in W.S.A. s. 340.01(40)] of any person who is a school dropout, and who is
at least 16 years of age but less that 18 years of age, until the person reaches
the age of 18.
(2) "Dropout" is defined in W.S.A. s. 118.153(1)(b) as a
child who has ceased to attend school, does not attend public or private school,
technical college or home-based private educational program on a full-time
basis, has not graduated from high school, and does not have an acceptable
excuse under W.S.A. s. 118.15(1)(b) to (d) or (3).
(3) If a person is found to be a school dropout and if the
court elects to suspend the person's operating privilege, the court shall
immediately take possession of any suspended license and forward it to the
Department of Transportation, together with a notice stating the reason for
and the duration of the suspension.
D. Contributing to truancy.
(1) Any person who is 18 years of age or older is prohibited
from knowingly contributing to the truancy of a child by any act or omission.
An act or omission contributes to the truancy of a child if the natural and
probable consequences of that act or omission would be to cause the child
to be truant. A parent or guardian of a child who is truant is subject to
this section.
(2) If a person is found to have contributed to the truancy of a child, the court may impose a forfeiture under §
1-20 of this Code. Each violation and each day a violation continues or occurs shall constitute a separate offense.
E. The Wisconsin Statutes identified in this section are
incorporated by reference, and any future amendments, revisions or modifications
to these statutes are intended to be made a part of this Code.
For regulations pertaining to minors and obscenity, refer to §
177-29 of this Code.
For regulations pertaining to minors and alcohol and tobacco products, refer to §§
177-31,
177-32 and
177-33 of this Code.