In Texas, children who miss a certain number of school days can be sent to truancy court, where they could face a Class C misdemeanor punishable by up to $500. State Sen. John Whitmire, D-Houston, filed a bill to make truancy a civil, rather than criminal, offense. Here’s the first video in a two-part series over the debate to decriminalize truancy in Texas.

In Part 2, lawmakers, advocates, school officials and those in the legal community detail how truant students are often at risk of ending up behind bars later in life. 

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