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 Virginia, truancy is addressed under the state's compulsory education laws, which require children from ages 5 to 18 to attend school. When a student accumulates a certain number of unexcused absences, the school is required to take action. This typically starts with notifying the parents and may involve creating a plan to resolve the student's attendance issues. If absences continue, the school may file a complaint with the juvenile and domestic relations district court. The court then has the authority to take various actions in the best interest of the child, which can include ordering the child to attend school, imposing conditions to encourage attendance, or involving the child in a community service project. The focus is on remedying the situation rather than punishment, and parents may also be held accountable for their child's truancy. The relevant Virginia statutes can be found in the Code of Virginia, primarily within the education code sections dealing with school attendance.