Parents who can't come up with a good reason why their child
missed school face a $A70 fine from next year in Victoria.
The Herald Sun says the crackdown is aimed at parents whose
children are absent without a reasonable excuse for more than
five days in a year and who won't co-operate with the school
to improve attendance.
Excuses such as taking the child shopping, visiting friends
or relatives or other leisure activities won't cut it with
the Department of Education, which will be issuing the
penalties.
The paper says that currently, problem parents who let their
children miss school must be taken to court in order for a
fine to be issued but no one has been pursued under the
existing legislation.
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