What kind of laws are there in Virginia regarding school attendance of minors?

Aha! Being a former Virginia school delinquent I can help! Plus, you said Google-Fu, I’m yours, dahling.

If he’s registered in school it’s my understanding that the parents are held accountable for unnecessary and frequent absences. Once he misses a few days, the school will figure it out. She might need to contact the police, but if she’s unwilling to do that you should know they will become involved eventually as a means of protecting the child.

I was frequently absent and I was charged with truancy, my mother was also held accountable. I was in high school at the time, but that’s all the info I have. Hopefully, I’m getting it all right. Good luck to you, your sister and her child.

I think at this point you can call Child Protective Services (or the local equivalent), tell them what you’ve told us and have them tell you what can be done legally on the child’s behalf.

Or that, if you choose to be involved.

How far away is the school? Normally if it’s not within walking distance, there is a school bus service.

If not, she should definitely call the police. If she won’t do that, you should probably call the police. Or Social Services or whoever deals with child neglect issues.

Somebody must do something if any care exists for the child.

I hope you and she find a way out of this situation.

What an awful situation. I hope she can leave him and get help.

Well, apparently he’s decided my sister’s allowed to take the kiddo to school. I’m not sure if she mentioned the legal issue to him or if he just randomly realized it’s shitty to deny a kid their education so you can control people, but… crisis (because he has testing soon) averted for the moment.

He does this from time to time, though, so thanks for the advice given so far, and any more would certainly be welcome. If she doesn’t get out of the situation soon, it’s sure to come in handy eventually.

CPS is the way to go in the future for other problems. They may lose the kid, but resources will be made available to them all and at least she’s stuck with her choices alone instead of the kid being punished in the meantime.

I hope for the best.

Find and keep some numbers to various women’s shelters and centers handy. Those places are better equipped to help her if she decides to leave. Not that you couldn’t help, but there’s guards and the like in a shelter that would protect her and her child.

Now is the planning stage, if she’s thinking about leaving. Help her stash whatever money she can in a separate account. Start sneaking clothes out of the house and to a neutral location, preferably one he doesn’t know about.

If your county (or hers) has an anti-domestic violence task force or similar quasi-government agency to help women in her situation, get that number too! They’d also be able to help her with anything she’d need in terms of the bureaucracy she’d have to go through to legally get him off her back, if it comes to it.

Good question! because I’m from VA (currently in Iraq) and I have friends that barely ever went to school and still somehow managed to graduate. I think there’s a 28-day limit for my school system.

-Sellz