A truant is a student who stays away from school without permission or an explanation. Truancy laws are designed to encourage school attendance by creating simple court procedures through which children are held accountable for excessive school absences. The courts focus on the best interest of the child when addressing the truant conduct of a child.

Truant conduct is usually prosecuted or addressed as a civil (noncriminal) matter, and the definition and procedures for dealing with truancy are usually located in a state's statutes—often in the family code or education code.

In Colorado, truancy laws are primarily governed by state statutes found in the Colorado Revised Statutes (C.R.S.), particularly in the education code. These laws define a 'habitual truant' as a child who has four unexcused absences from public school in any one month or ten unexcused absences from public school during any school year. Colorado law requires school districts to establish attendance policies and to enforce the compulsory school attendance for children between the ages of 6 and 17 years old. When a student is identified as a habitual truant, the school must make efforts to meet with the student's parent or guardian and develop a plan to address the truancy. If these efforts fail, the matter may be referred to the juvenile court system. The courts aim to serve the best interest of the child, often through interventions that may include educational support services, family support services, and in some cases, involvement in the juvenile justice system. The goal is to address the underlying issues contributing to the truancy and to help the student return to regular school attendance rather than to punish the student.