Compulsory school attendance enforcement

As the new year begins, the Mississippi Department of Education, Office of Compulsory School Attendance Enforcement would like to remind area parents about several laws governing school attendance.

Under the Mississippi Compulsory School Attendance Law, parents and guardians are required to enroll their children in a public, private or home school.

“Compulsory-school-aged child” means a child who has attained or will attain the age of six years on or before Sept. 1 of the calendar year and who has not attained the age of 17 years on or before Sept. 1 of the calendar year; and shall include any child who has attained or will attain the age of five years on or before Sept. 1 and has enrolled in a full-day public school kindergarten program. Provided, however, that parent or guardian of any child enrolled in a  full-day public kindergarten program shall be allowed to disenroll the child from the program on a one-time basis, and such child shall not be deemed a compulsory-school-age child until the child attains the age of six years.
Parents, guardians or custodians who are teaching their children at home must file a “Certificate of Enrollment” card by Sept. 15 with Jacqueline Littles-Jones, county school attendance officer.
Any parent or guardian who fails to comply with the compulsory school attendance laws may be found guilty of contributing to the neglect of a child and may face criminal charges.

With the parents and school attendance officer working together  on this problem concerning your child, there should be a successful outcome. For more information please contact Jacqueline Littles-Jones at (601) 894-3909, if you have any questions.