In the Interest of Isaac J.R.
Wisconsin Court of Appeals
220 Wis. 2d 252, 582 N. W.2d 476 (1998)
- Written by Meredith Hamilton Alley, JD
Facts
Isaac J.R. (defendant) was a student who accrued 15 unexcused absences during the first semester of his fifth-grade year. The school board’s attendance policy excused absences for illness, driver’s-license exams, doctor appointments, home emergencies, planned family vacations, work on the family farm, and “other good cause as shown in advance to the attendance officer or designee.” Seven of Isaac’s absences resulted from suspensions he was given because of disciplinary problems, and the school considered those absences to be unexcused because suspension was not included in the list of reasons to excuse an absence. Isaac came before the trial court and was found to be a habitual truant because he was absent for 10 or more days “without an acceptable excuse.” Because of Isaac’s truancy, he was found to need protection and service. Isaac appealed, arguing that under Wisconsin statute, the absences accrued for disciplinary reasons were not truancy and could not be included in the 10 absences required to be found a habitual truant, given that the school had notice of those absences because the school suspended him on those days.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Vergeront, J.)
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