Criminal Law: Compulsory Attendance Law-Unconstitutionally Vague

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Defendants appealed their conviction for violations of the compulsory attendance law. Defendants were charged after their children missed a certain number of days of school. On appeal, defendants reiterated their challenge to the law as unconstitutionally vague and argued that the evidence was insufficient to support their conviction.

Where the statutory language was sufficient to put parents or guardians on notice that students should not have unexcused or unverified absences from school, the compulsory attendance law was not unconstitutionally vague, and there was sufficient evidence to support defendants’ conviction where their children had multiple absences and continued to have absences after defendants received notices from the school.

Judgment is affirmed.

State v. Williams (MLW No. 80393/Case No. SC99719 – 16 pages) (Supreme Court of Missouri, Ransom, J.) Appealed from circuit court, Laclede County, Jackson, J., and Winfrey, J. (Ellen H. Flottmann, Columbia, for appellants) (Shaun J. Mackelprang, Jefferson City, for respondent)