House Bill 5610: Amending Definition of Child Abuse

This bill would amend the definition of "child neglect" in Michigan to include a parent's failure to ensure a child's attendance at school. There are three problems with this proposal. First, Michigan law already prohibits truancy, so this proposed change is not needed. Second, the fact that a child is not attending school regularly or is not complying with some local school's policy does not necessarily mean that the parent is neglecting the child's education. Third, the term "child" is defined in this statute as any person under 18 years of age. The compulsory attendance law of Michigan only requires a child to attend school until age 16 for children who turned 11 before December 1, 2009, or who entered sixth grade before 2009. So a parent could be charged with child neglect for not ensuring that a child beyond compulsory attendance age is in school.