Six parents in Orange County, California, were recently arrested for allowing their children to be "chronically truant" from school. According to CBS affiliate KCAL, 38-year-old Toya Daniels, 48-year-old Gustavo Martinez, 37-year-old Maria de la Luz Martinez, 33-year-old Cheree Peoples, 32-year-old Yoni Marie Aranda and 34-year-old Virginia Ferrer Avila were taken into custody and booked into the Orange County Jail after their children missed school on a regular basis. Each of them have been charged with one misdemeanor count of contributing to the delinquency of a minor and one misdemeanor count of failure to reasonably supervise or encourage school attendance.

The absences were brought to the attention of law enforcement officials after the OC Gang Reduction Intervention Partnership and teams from the Buena Park Police Department, Orange County District Attorney's Office, Orange County Probation Department, Orange Police Department, Santa Ana Police Department and Santa Ana Unified School District Police Department reported the truancies.

"California law requires school-aged children to be enrolled in and attend school and failure to comply with the law can result in juvenile court proceedings for the child or criminal prosecution of the parent(s)," the Orange County District Attorney's Office stated.

Most of the parents refused to use school resources
The unexcused absences for the children ranged from 12 to 24 days of school this year, according to the Southwest Riverside News Network. Daniels' elementary-school aged son had 17 unexcused absences, which was a trend that dated back to kindergarten. Although school officials suggested she take parenting classes, prosecutors allege Daniels refused to take advantage of any of the resources given to her.

Gustavo and Mari de la Luz Martinez's have two children - an elementary-aged student and an underage teenager who isn't enrolled at any school. Prosecutors contend that case managers have attempted to get in touch with the parents, however, they have refused to return any phone calls. Peoples' child has missed 20 days of school and she allegedly has not taken advantage of any of the programs the school offered, according to the source. Aranda has two elementary school students - one who has 23 absences, and another with 24. After her phone was shut off in December, she moved her children to another school and refused to take advantage of any school resources. Avila has a middle school student with 21 unexcused absences, and despite the fact that she connected her child with a mentor, the absences have continued to stack up.

If the parents are convicted, they will face up to one year in jail and $2,500 in fines. An arraignment date has not been determined.