Iowa Code § 299.8
“Truant” defined
Redline — January 1, 2012 → current.View current text →
Current — January 1, 2026
As of January 1, 2012
Any child of compulsory attendance age who fails to attend school as provided in this chapter, or as required by the school board’s or school governing body’s attendance policy, or who fails to attend competent private instruction under chapter 299A, without reasonable excuse for the absence, shall be deemed to be a truant. A finding that a child is truant, however, shall not by itself mean that the child is a child in need of assistance within the meaning of chapter 232 and shall not be the sole basis for a child in need of assistance petition.
Any child of compulsory attendance age, to whom the exceptions described in section 299.1, subsection 4, paragraph “b”, or section 299.2 do not apply, who has been absent from school, for any reason, for at least twenty percent of the days or hours in the grading period, shall be deemed to be a truant. A finding that a child is truant, however, shall not by itself mean that the child is a child in need of assistance within the meaning of chapter 232 and shall not be the sole basis for a child in need of assistance petition.
91 Acts, ch 200, §11
91 Acts, ch 200, §11; 2013 Acts, ch 121, §94; 2024 Acts, ch 1152, §17
Referred to in
Official source: Iowa Legislature. Reproduced from public-domain Iowa statutes; confirm against the official source for the current text. Not legal advice.