How to Skip School Without Parents Knowing

Co-authored by wikiHow Staff

Last Updated: August 31, 2024

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Skipping school is risky, but it might be worth it if you need some time away, ...or not. The most important thing is making sure your parents don’t find out. It’s difficult but not impossible. Making a plan for how you’ll skip school is better than skipping spontaneously and hoping it works out. Make sure you don’t get caught leaving the school grounds and act like you have a good reason if you’re seen out of school. If you want to fake an illness as an excuse to skip, it is good to start showing symptoms the night before to make it seem more real.

Method 1

Method 1 of 3:

Forming a Plan

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1
Check your school’s absence policy. Find your school handbook, or any packet of policy information that you’ve received, and review the attendance policy section. Specifically find out if they will call your parents if you have an unexcused absence. If they automatically call when you don’t show up, you’ll need to find a way to make sure your parents don’t get the call.
- Get your hands on your parents’ phones and block the school’s number the day before you skip. Deceiving your parents and tampering with their phone can get you in big trouble, so weigh the risk before you do this.
- If your school does not call when you’re absent, you won’t have to worry about your parents hearing from the school.
- Skipping school frequently is called “truancy” and can get you suspended from school. You may have to go before a judge who can order mandatory counselling, extra school, detention, or probation. Skipping school can lead to truancy, which will remain on your permanent record.^{[1]
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2
Make a plan before you skip. Pick a specific day that you want to skip school, rather than deciding to skip spontaneously. Give yourself enough time to take some precautions and make arrangements. Take into consideration any tests or special events that you can’t miss.^{[2]
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- If you miss a big test or project that has a significant effect on your grade, your parents are much more likely to find out that you skipped.
- A day when you don’t have much going on will have less consequences when you show back up to school than a day where something important is happening.
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3
Inform the school about an upcoming absence. One way to avoid having the school tell your parents that you skipped is to turn in a note for an excused absence a few days before you skip. Write the note in good handwriting and sign it with your parent’s name. Turning in an excuse note before you skip helps you avoid detection.
- Practice your parent’s signature so it looks authentic.
- Give a simple reason for why you will be gone. Say you are visiting a relative out of town, taking a one day vacation, or doing some work around the house.
- Keep in mind that lying to the authorities at your school is never a good idea. If you lie about skipping, you may get in serious trouble.
4
Plan your transportation ahead of time. If you ride the bus to school, you need to come up with a way to get back home. If your house is close enough, you may be able to walk. Catch a city bus or get a cab if possible. Get a friend or older sibling to drive you home or wherever you decide to go.^{[3]
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- This is a tricky step, but it is important. If you get stuck at school with no way to leave, you really have no way to skip.
- Another option is to tell your parents that a friend is picking you up that day so you don’t need to ride the bus. Then once your parents leave, just stay home.
5
Know the best exits in your school. If you plan to leave after you are already inside the school, use a door that you aren’t likely to be seen using. If you know of a door that's out of the way and not a lot of people use, this is the best bet for sneaking out. Make sure there aren't a lot of exterior windows or teachers will see you leaving.
- Your best bet is to not go inside the building at all, but if your parents drop you off or teachers see you when you arrive, sneaking out of the building is your only option.
- You may even have to hide somewhere until school starts so you’re less likely to be seen walking out of the building.
- If you get caught leaving school, the punishment could end up being worse than if you hadn’t shown up at all. Leaving school can be risky, so make sure it is worth it to you.
6
Split up if you are sneaking out with friends. When you're leaving school with friends, don't walk out of the door together. Go one or two at a time to avoid drawing attention. If possible, have everyone use a different door, too. Establish a meeting place and time, somewhere off of schools grounds, if you can.
- If someone doesn't make it, assume they got caught. Don't go back toward the school to find them.
- Meet as close to the school as possible but still off of school grounds. You don’t want to have to travel too far before you meet up.

Method 2

Method 2 of 3:

Avoiding Getting Caught

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1
Act confident about what you are doing. Whether you answer the telephone at home, are questioned by a stranger about not being in school, or are asked something by a teacher, give a confident answer about not being there. If you sound suspicious, you are more likely to get caught.
- Speak loudly and clearly rather than in a soft mumble. Give straightforward and simple answers so it doesn’t sound like you are making anything up.
- If you answer the phone at home, disguise your voice so you sound sick or try sounding like one of your parents. Overall, it’s best not to answer the phone unless you know it’s very important.
- If you are seen outside of school and are questioned about it, say, “I’m actually working on an assignment, so I was allowed to leave school. I’ve got to get this done quickly, though, so I can’t stay and talk.”
- Say, “I’m on my way to an appointment, but I wanted to make a quick stop while I was passing through this part of town.”
2
Stay home instead of going out. When you skip school, it’s tempting to go out on the town and have a lot of fun. The downside to this is you increase your chances of someone seeing you, maybe even your parents. Have a fun rest day at home so that no one will see that you aren’t at school.
- It may not sound fun to stay home all day, but think about how often you actually get the house to yourself. Take the time to do whatever you usually can’t do with people around.
- Lounge around in your pajamas all day. Turn the TV up loud. Take a long bath without being bothered. Get a friend to skip with you and hang out together so you don’t get bored.
- Being in school is important, and you will miss a lot if you skip. Make sure you make the day something to remember and use it wisely. You’ll regret skipping school if you waste the whole day.
- Keep in mind that skipping school is never a good idea and the fun you might have is not worth the trouble you’ll get in if you get caught.
3
Leave the house for awhile before your parents come home. If you go out for the day, make sure to come home around the time you normally do so your parents don’t question the time difference. If you stay home all day, go out somewhere so your parents don’t come home to find you there before you are usually home.
- If your parents typically get home late, you may not need to leave because they’ll expect you to be there anyway.

Method 3

Method 3 of 3:

Faking Sickness

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1
Start acting sick the night before you plan to skip school. As the evening goes on, start to sneeze every so often. Blow your nose a lot in a place where your parents can hear you. If you start faking the symptoms of sickness the night before, your parents are less likely to question you when you say you’re sick in the morning.
- Sickness comes in various forms, with many different symptoms. Decide on a few to use, such as an upset stomach, sneezing, or nausea, but don’t go overboard with too many symptoms.
- If your parents are very cautious, it may not be a good idea to pretend to be sick. They may get so worried that they rush you to the doctor immediately. If they know you lied about being sick, your punishment might be worse. If this is the case, you might want to skip the fake sick method. If your parents are doctors, they will probably also catch you very early, so be careful.
- Lying to your parents about being sick is worse than skipping school and will break their trust in you.
2
Spend a long time in the bathroom in the morning. As soon as you wake up, go straight to the bathroom. Make noises as if you are sitting on the toilet and not feeling good at all. Pour some water in the toilet to simulate the proper sounds.
- Be sure to flush the toilet at least two or three times to enhance the effect.
3
Fake a fever reading on a thermometer. Heat up some tea and hold the thermometer against the outside of the mug until it heats up to 101℉ or 102℉ (39℃). Be sure not to let the thermometer read 104℉ (40℃) or more, as this causes alarm and may get you taken to the doctor. Be sure to add other fever symptoms like making yourself sweat a little and saying you feel cold.
- The combination of the fever reading on the thermometer, visible sweat on your forehead, and saying you are cold should be enough to convince your parent that you’re feverish without raising too much concern.

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Question

What is one way of making up attendance?

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Usually an absence can't be made up, but if you only miss a few days here and there you should be alright.

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Can I get expelled for ditching school?

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If you only miss days once in a while, you're probably safe. But there are rules about repeat offenses.

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Could I walk out of school?

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It depends on your school's policies and whether or not you can find an exit you won't be seen. Most schools don't let you leave during the day once you're there.

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Tips

If you end up getting caught, say you are sorry and accept the punishment immediately rather than lying, which will get you in worse trouble.

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If your school has a school uniform, get dressed in it so that when your parents come home and see you in the uniform, they'll assume that you were there all day. This makes it less likely for them to think you were away.

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Even if you were home all day and didn't get dirty, have a shower or bath anyway, so your parents will think that you were at school.

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Warnings

These methods probably won't work if you are homeschooled.

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Skipping school almost always has consequences, so think hard about this before you choose to skip.

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