Sending your spawn to “head start” is a matter of choice. Some parents can’t be bothered. Others don’t have the means. Sending your spawn to elementary school is, in most places, a matter of law.
A parent or other person in parental relation to the child who is convicted of truancy is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by a fine between $5.00 and $50.00 or up to 90 days in jail, or both. MCL 380.1599. Prior to March 2021, truancy used to have a minimum punishment of 2 days in jail, but that has since been repealed. Parents should also be aware that a referral will often be made to Child Protective Services at this point and may face the possibility that the state will attempt to remove the children from their care due to “educational neglect”.