Florida Statute 984.151 - Full Text and Legal Analysis

The 2025 Florida Statutes

Title XLVII
CRIMINAL PROCEDURE AND CORRECTIONS

Chapter 984
CHILDREN AND FAMILIES IN NEED OF SERVICES; PREVENTION AND INTERVENTION FOR SCHOOL TRUANCY AND UNGOVERNABLE AND RUNAWAY CHILDREN

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984.151 Early truancy intervention; truancy petition; judgment.—

(1) If the school determines that a student subject to compulsory school attendance has had at least five unexcused absences, or absences for which the reasons are unknown, within a calendar month or 10 unexcused absences, or absences for which the reasons are unknown, within a 90-calendar-day period pursuant to s. 1003.26(1)(b), or has had more than 15 unexcused absences in a 90-calendar-day period, the superintendent of schools or his or her designee may file a truancy petition seeking early truancy intervention.

(2) The petition shall be filed in the circuit in which the student is enrolled in school.

(3) Original jurisdiction to hear a truancy petition shall be in the circuit court; however, the circuit court may use a general or special magistrate pursuant to Supreme Court rules. Upon the filing of the petition, the clerk shall issue a summons to the parent, legal guardian, or custodian of the student, directing that person and the student to appear for a hearing at a time and place specified.

(4) The petition must contain the following: the name, age, and address of the student; the name and address of the student’s parent or guardian; the school where the student is enrolled; the efforts the school has made to get the student to attend school in compliance with s. 1003.26; the number of out-of-school contacts between the school system and student’s parent or guardian; and the number of days and dates of days the student has missed school. The petition shall be sworn to by the superintendent or his or her designee.

(5) Once the petition is filed, the court shall hear the petition within 30 days.

(6) The student and the student’s parent or guardian shall attend the hearing.

(7) If the court determines that the student did miss any of the alleged days, the court shall enter an order finding the child to be a truant status offender and the court shall order the student to attend school and order the parent, legal guardian, or custodian to ensure that the student attends school. The court’s power under this subsection is limited to entering orders to require the student to attend school and require the student and family to participate in services to encourage regular school attendance. The court may order any of the following services:

(a) The student to participate in attendance at alternative classes;

(b) The student’s parent, legal guardian, or custodian to participate in parenting classes;

(c) The student or the student’s parent, legal guardian, or custodian to participate in individual, group, or family counseling;

(d) The student or the student’s parent, legal guardian, or custodian to participate in community mental health services or substance abuse treatment services if available and applicable;

(e) The student and the student’s parent, legal guardian, or custodian to participate in services provided by state or community agencies, if appropriate, including services for families in need of services as provided in s. 984.11;

(f) The student and the student’s parent, legal guardian, or custodian to attend meetings with school officials to address the child’s educational needs, classroom assignment, class schedule, and other barriers to school attendance identified by the child’s school, the child, or his or her family;

(g) The student and the student’s parent, legal guardian, or custodian to engage in learning activities provided by the school board as to why education is important and the potential impact on the child’s future employment and education options if the attendance problem persists; or

(h) The student or the student’s parent, legal guardian, or custodian to participate in vocational or job training.

(8) If the student does not substantially comply with compulsory school attendance and court-ordered services required under subsection (7), and the child meets the definition of a child in need of services, the case shall be referred by the court to the department’s authorized agent for review by the case staffing committee under s. 984.12 with a recommendation to file a petition for a child in need of services under s. 984.15. The court shall review the case not less than every 45 days to determine whether the child is in substantial compliance with compulsory education or if the case should be referred to the case staffing committee in accord with this subsection.

(9) If the student substantially complies with compulsory school attendance, the court shall close the truancy case.

(10) If the child is adjudicated a child in need of services pursuant to s. 984.21, the truancy case shall be closed and jurisdiction relinquished in accordance with s. 984.04.

(11) The court may retain jurisdiction of any case in which the child is noncompliant with compulsory education and the child does not meet the definition of a child in need of services under this chapter until jurisdiction lapses pursuant to s. 984.04.

(12) The court may not order a child placed in shelter pursuant to this section unless the court has found the child to be in contempt for violation of a court order under s. 984.09.

(13) The parent, legal guardian, or custodian and the student shall participate, as required by court order, in any sanctions or services required by the court under this section, and the court shall enforce such participation through its contempt power.

(14) Any truant student ¹who meets the definition of a child in need of services and who has been found in contempt for violation of a court order under s. 984.09 two or more times shall be referred to the case staffing committee under s. 984.12 with a recommendation to file a petition for a child in need of services.

(15) The clerk of court must serve any court order referring the case to voluntary family services or the case staffing committee to the department’s office of general counsel and to the department’s authorized agent.

History.—s. 75, ch. 99-398; s. 24, ch. 2000-235; s. 1048, ch. 2002-387; s. 7, ch. 2014-39; s. 18, ch. 2025-153.

¹Note.—The word “who” was substituted for the word “that” by the editors to conform to context.

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Amendments to 984.151

Annotations, Discussions, Cases:

Cases Citing Statute 984.151

Total Results: 6 | Sort by: Relevance | Newest First

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Kazanjian v. Sch. Bd. of Palm Beach Cnty., 967 So. 2d 259 (Fla. 4th DCA 2007).

Cited 18 times | Published | Florida 4th District Court of Appeal | 2007 WL 2710760

...tor Vehicles, as required by section 1003.27(2), Florida Statutes (2005). The DMV notification is automatic when a student accumulates fifteen unexcused absences in a ninety-day period. The policy also requires the filing of a truancy petition under section 984.151 or a child-in-need-of-services petition under section 1003.27(3) in all cases of habitual truancy....

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In Re Amendments to the Florida Rules of Juv. Procedure, 175 So. 3d 263 (Fla. 2015).

Cited 2 times | Published | Supreme Court of Florida | 40 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 485, 2015 Fla. LEXIS 1976, 2015 WL 5445986

...prevent delays to permanency for children. -3- New subpart C (Truancy Proceedings) has been added to Part V (Other Proceedings) of the rules. This new set of rules, rules 8.850–8.870, governs truancy proceedings under section 984.151, Florida Statutes (2014)....

...PART V. OTHER PROCEEDINGS A.-B. [NO CHANGE] C. TRUANCY PROCEEDINGS RULE 8.850. APPLICABILITY These rules apply to proceedings instituted under section 984.151, Florida Statutes. RULE 8.855....

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A.J.R. v. State, 206 So. 3d 140 (Fla. 2d DCA 2016).

Cited 1 times | Published | Florida 2nd District Court of Appeal | 2016 Fla. App. LEXIS 18198

...same or closely related subjects should be read in pari materia.”). Section 984.13(l)(b) is not the only statute governing truancy. Rather the legislature has set up a comprehensive statutory framework of escalating remedies for dealing with juveniles who fail to attend school. See §§ 984.151, 1003.26, Fla....

...rograms,” and “[a]ttendanee contracts.” § 1003.26(l)(c)(l)-(3). The team may also implement other interventions, including “referral to other agencies for family services or recommendation for filing a truancy petition pursuant to [section] 984.151.” § 1003.26(l)(c). A truancy petition must make certain allegations, including the dates on which the child was absent from school, and be filed in the circuit in which the child is enrolled in school. See § 984.151(2), (4)....

...Following a hearing, if the circuit court determines that the child has in fact missed any of the school days alleged in the petition, the court must “order the student to attend school and the parent to ensure that the student attends school.” § 984.151(7)....

...or employment services. Id. If the child does not complete the court-ordered sanctions, the court must refer the case “to the case staffing committee ... with a recommendation to file a child-in-need-of-services petition under [section] 984.15.” § 984.151(8)....

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S.G. v. Vurro, 77 So. 3d 897 (Fla. 2d DCA 2012).

Published | Florida 2nd District Court of Appeal | 2012 Fla. App. LEXIS 686, 2012 WL 164068

...this definition does not include an act constituting contempt of court arising out of a dependency proceeding or a proceeding concerning a child or family in need of services. (Emphasis added.) To be sure, truancy orders are enforceable by contempt. § 984.151(9)....

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A.J.R. v. State (Fla. 2d DCA 2016).

Published | Florida 2nd District Court of Appeal

...d be read in pari materia."). Section 984.13(1)(b) is not the only statute governing truancy. Rather the legislature has set up a comprehensive statutory framework of escalating remedies for dealing with juveniles who fail to attend school. See §§ 984.151, 1003.26, Fla....

...alternative education programs," and "[a]ttendance contracts." § 1003.26(1)(c)(1)-(3). The team may also implement other interventions, including "referral to other agencies for family services or recommendation for filing a truancy petition pursuant to [section] 984.151." § 1003.26(1)(c). A truancy petition must make certain allegations, including the dates on which the child was absent from school, and be filed in the circuit in which the child is enrolled in school. See § 984.151(2), (4)....

...Following a hearing, if the circuit court determines that the child has in fact missed any of the school days alleged in the petition, the court must "order the student to attend school and the parent to ensure that the student attends school." § 984.151(7)....

...services. Id. If the child does not complete the court-ordered sanctions, the court must refer the case "to the case staffing committee . . . with a recommendation to file a child-in-need- of-services petition under [section] 984.15." § 984.151(8). Against this backdrop, we return to section 984.13(b)....

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Sockwell v. State, 123 So. 3d 585 (Fla. 2d DCA 2012).

Published | Florida 2nd District Court of Appeal | 2012 WL 6720534, 2012 Fla. App. LEXIS 22150

...We are concerned that the court in Charlotte County is treating truancy court as a quasi-criminal court, in which indirect criminal contempt proceedings — initiated, prosecuted, and adjudicated by the judge — are a common form of punishment. 1 It appears that the legislature in *587 tended a truancy proceeding under section 984.151, Florida Statutes (2008), to be a rather informal, but stern, effort by the circuit court to convince a family to send its children to school. If a truancy proceeding does not succeed after a relatively short period, the statute contemplates that the state should address the continuing truancy issue by a petition for child in need of services under section 984.15. See § 984.151(8)....

...*589 (9) The parent, guardian,- or legal custodian and the student shall participate, as required by court order, in any sanctions or services required by the court under this section, and the court shall enforce such participation through its contempt power. § 984.151, Fla....

...Indeed, there appear to be no rules of procedure for such courts. These cases can be delegated to a hearing officer or magistrate. In this case, Ms. Sockwell’s proceedings were conducted by a county court judge. In light of these informalities, it is' not surprising that the legislature mandated in section 984.151(8) that the trial court refer the family’s case to the case staffing committee with a recommendation to file a child-in-need-of-ser-viees petition under section 984.15 if the student does not successfully complete the ordered sanctions....

...6 Such a referral allows for the family’s care to be transferred to a circuit court judge in a juvenile division subject to the Florida Rules of Juvenile Procedure. See Fla. R. Juv. P. 8.601. Finally, similar to a dependency proceeding, we believe that the order under section 984.151(7) compelling the student to attend school and the parent to ensure that attendance is the final appeal-able order in such a proceeding....

...a review hearing. It has several standard orders, a place to check the box for some additional orders, and then an area in which to write “other orders.” At a minimum, the form makes it difficult to know what was actually ordered in the initial section 984.151(7) order and what is newly ordered in the many review orders....

...Unfortunately, the model procedures were written in criminal terminology. The child and the parent were summoned for an “arraignment.” If the child or parent admitted the contents of the petition at arraignment, then they were “sentence[d]” pursuant to section 984.151(7). Section 984.151 as quoted above does not contemplate arraignments or sentences. Truancy court was intended to be a precursor to a child-in-need-of-services proceeding. It was not a precursor to a juvenile delinquency proceeding or an adult county court criminal proceeding. 8 Section 984.151(9) requires the parent and the student to “participate ......

...e legislature authorizes the court to enforce participation through use of its contempt power. The legislature does not specify whether it intends the court to use civil or criminal contempt in this context. The sanctions and services referred to in section 984.151(9) are delineated in section 984.151(7)....

...Literature Review, Dev. Servs. Grp., 1 (Oct. 15, 2009), ht tp://www.ojjdp.gov/dso/Truancy% 20Literature% 20Review.pdf. . It does not appear that the superintendent or his delegate are ever represented by a lawyer in this process. . The placement of section 984.151 is logical, but it separates section 984.15 from section 984.16, which contains the provisions dealing with process and service of a petition under section 984.15. It does not appear that the content of section 984.16 is intended to apply in a proceeding under section 984.151....

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