2 Missouri moms charged with misdemeanors for children’s absences lose their court battle

LEBANON, Mo. (AP) — The Missouri Supreme Court has upheld a law criminalizing parents whose children miss school. Judges on Tuesday found the law constitutional. Two parents from Lebanon, Missouri, who were charged with misdemeanors had challenged the law in court. The parents argued the law is unconstitutionally vague. Missouri law requires students in kindergarten through 12th grade to attend school on a regular basis. One mother was sentenced to a week in jail for her first-grade daughter’s nine unexcused absences in the 2021 school year. Another mother was sentenced to two years of probation for her kindergartener’s seven unexcused absences that year.