Millis Public Schools v. M.P., 478 Mass. 767

Summary

The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court interpreted the term "willfully" in the Massachusetts child requiring assistance statute's habitual truancy provision. The court held that the provision requires purposeful conduct by the child and concluded that the evidence did not support, beyond a reasonable doubt, a finding that M.P.'s failure to attend school was willful where it resulted from physical and mental disabilities.

Holdings

1. A child willfully fails to attend school when the child acts purposefully and the behavior arises from reasons portending delinquent behavior. The statutory inquiry requires examination of the child's purpose or reasons for the absences, not merely whether the absences were voluntary or intentional.
2. The evidence did not support beyond a reasonable doubt a finding that M.P. willfully failed to attend school because her absences were attributable to her bladder condition and associated mental and emotional impairments, and her conduct did not portend juvenile delinquency.

Questions Presented

1. What does the phrase "willfully fails to attend school" mean under the habitual-truancy provision of Massachusetts's children requiring assistance statute, G. L. c. 119, § 21?
2. Whether the evidence proved beyond a reasonable doubt that M.P.'s school absences were willful and supported her adjudication as a child requiring assistance.

Disposition

reversed_and_remanded