Seventeen parents or guardians have been convicted since 2004 for letting their children wag school.
The prosecutions came as a result of an Education Ministry pilot in Manukau, Hutt Valley and Wairarapa.
Education Ministry senior policy analyst Deonne Rowland said 20 prosecutions for "unjustified, persistent and parent condoned
child absences" were heard in Manukau District Court relating to more than 20 students.
Nine were fined, four were convicted and discharged, and three received a deferred sentence. Four were discharged without conviction. There was one prosecution in Hutt Valley.
The pilot has been running in 66 Manukau schools.
The pilot was set up to discover if prosecuting parents was an effective way to deal with truancy. Under the trial, the school can contact parents if a child is unjustifiably absent. Three warning letters can be sent, the third warning the parent of court charges if the pupil didn't return or provide a satisfactory answer in five days.
Ministry senior manager Martin Connelly said the pilot had been effective in changing behaviour and identified cases that need to be referred to other agencies.
- NZPA
