Tex. Fam. Code § 65.003 · Subchapter A. GENERAL PROVISIONS
TRUANT CONDUCT.
Text — Current through the 89th 2nd Called Legislative Session, 2025
(a) A child engages in truant conduct if the child is required to attend school under Section 25.085, Education Code, and fails to attend school on 10 or more days or parts of days within a six-month period in the same school year.
(b) Truant conduct may be prosecuted only as a civil case in a truancy court.
(c) It is an affirmative defense to an allegation of truant conduct that one or more of the absences required to be proven:
(1) have been excused by a school official or by the court;
(2) were involuntary; or
(3) were due to the child's voluntary absence from the child's home because of abuse, as defined by Section 261.001.
(d) The affirmative defense provided by Subsection (c) is not available if, after deducting the absences described by that subsection, there remains a sufficient number of absences to constitute truant conduct.
(e) In asserting an affirmative defense described by Subsection (c), the burden is on the child to show by a preponderance of the evidence that the absence:
(1) has been or should be excused;
(2) was involuntary; or
(3) was due to the child's voluntary absence from the child's home because of abuse, as defined by Section 261.001.
(f) A decision by the court to excuse an absence for purposes of an affirmative defense under Subsection (c) does not affect the ability of the school district to determine whether to excuse the absence for another purpose.
Notes and commentary — not statutory text
History
Added by Acts 2015, 84th Leg., R.S., Ch. 935 (H.B. 2398), Sec. 27, eff. September 1, 2015.
Amended by:
Acts 2021, 87th Leg., R.S., Ch. 272 (H.B. 3165), Sec. 1, eff. June 4, 2021.
Source of truth
- Edition
- Current through the 89th 2nd Called Legislative Session, 2025
- Official file
- https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/FA/htm/FA.65.htm
- Text hash
- sha256 c4e8e5a7d2f26f64535f359784444c56d5e90380808ddb6f35acbcaa6a5516d8
- Composed by
- compose_tx.py 2026-10-05: the Legislative Council's chapter files read in document order; verify_tx.py's independent reading (lxml DOM walk) agrees character for character
This section cites
Provisions in this library that the text above cites, as it prints each citation. A range cited as “ss. 61.13-61.16” links its first and last provisions.
Cited by 13 provisions
Provisions in this library whose text cites Tex. Fam. Code § 65.003. Each shows the citation as that text prints it.
Education Code
- Tex. Educ. Code § 25.085COMPULSORY SCHOOL ATTENDANCE.Printed as Section 65.003(a), Family Code
- Tex. Educ. Code § 25.091POWERS AND DUTIES OF PEACE OFFICERS AND OTHER ATTENDANCE OFFICERS.Printed as Section 65.003(a), Family Code
- Tex. Educ. Code § 25.0915TRUANCY PREVENTION MEASURES.Printed as Section 65.003(a), Family Code
- Tex. Educ. Code § 25.093PARENT CONTRIBUTING TO NONATTENDANCE.Printed as Section 65.003(a), Family Code
- Tex. Educ. Code § 25.095WARNING NOTICES.Printed as Section 65.003(a), Family Code
- Tex. Educ. Code § 25.0951SCHOOL DISTRICT COMPLAINT OR REFERRAL FOR FAILURE TO ATTEND SCHOOL.Printed as Section 65.003(a), Family Code
Government Code
- Tex. Gov't Code § 26.045ORIGINAL CRIMINAL JURISDICTION.Printed as Section 65.003(a), Family Code
- Tex. Gov't Code § 29.003JURISDICTION.Printed as Section 65.003(a), Family Code
- Tex. Gov't Code § 54.1172APPOINTMENT.Printed as Section 65.003(a), Family Code
- Tex. Gov't Code § 54.1952APPOINTMENT.Printed as Section 65.003(a), Family Code
- Tex. Gov't Code § 54.1955POWERS.Printed as Section 65.003, Family Code
- Tex. Gov't Code § 54.1956NOT GUILTY PLEA ENTERED OR DENIAL OF ALLEGED CONDUCT.Printed as Section 65.003(a), Family Code
- Tex. Gov't Code § 71.0352JUVENILE DATA: JUSTICE, MUNICIPAL, AND TRUANCY COURTS.Printed as Section 65.003(a), Family Code
Procedural information only. Not legal advice and not a substitute for the advice of an attorney. Confirm the current text with the official publisher before relying on it.