{"id":373716,"date":"2016-03-31T21:35:26","date_gmt":"2016-04-01T02:35:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/content.findlaw-admin.com\/ability-law\/state\/maine-law\/maine-compulsory-education-laws.html"},"modified":"2016-06-20T19:51:29","modified_gmt":"2016-06-21T00:51:29","slug":"maine-compulsory-education-laws","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.findlaw.com\/state\/maine-law\/maine-compulsory-education-laws.html","title":{"rendered":"Maine Compulsory Education Laws"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Maine Compulsory Education Laws<\/h1>\n
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Created by FindLaw’s team<\/a> of legal writers and editors<\/i><\/p>\n\n | Last updated\n

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Formal education is a requirement for children of a certain age in all states, whether it’s public school, private school, home school<\/a>, or other types of instruction. Compulsory education laws were enacted in the U.S. around 1900 in order to protect child welfare. By 1918, every state had some form of a compulsory attendance law on the books.<\/p>\n

Maine’s compulsory education laws<\/a> require children between the ages of seven (7) and 17 to attend school unless he or she has graduated.<\/p>\n

Exceptions to the Compulsory Education Law<\/h2>\n

There are some exceptions to the compulsory education laws<\/a>. For example, a child 15 or older can be legally exempt from attending school if he is she is either has parental permission and school board approval or is attending school full-time at an accredited university with commissioner approval.<\/p>\n

Penalties for Truancy<\/h2>\n

When a child doesn’t attend school as required by law he or she is considered "truant<\/a>." That’s when the law gets involved. You may be summoned to appear in District Court<\/a> if:<\/p>\n