Right to counsel
In North Dakota, truancy is treated as an “unruly child” matter pursuant to N.D. Cent. Code § 27-20-02(19)(a). For such proceedings, N.D. Cent. Code § 27-20-26 specifies that “Counsel must be provided for a child who is under the age of eighteen years and is not represented by the child’s parent, guardian, or custodian at custodial, post-petition, and informal adjustment stages of proceedings under this chapter. If the interests of two or more parties conflict, separate counsel must be provided for each of them.”