Mike, You may be the only one who remembers the Trabant metaphor. 
I don't think it's as much parental apathy as it is related to how we fail to motive schools to check up on truant students. According to The Hamilton Project, Alaska's rate of chronic absenteeism is more than double the rate of California (a state with much higher poverty rate and percentage of students that are English Language Learners).
 Does that mean parents in California love their kids more than Alaska? No. It's more likely because California funds their schools based on actual DAILY attendance and Alaska funds our schools based on actual attendance for ONE day in October. California schools have a strong financial incentive to make sure kids attend EVERY day, not just one day out of 180 days.

http://www.hamiltonproject.org/charts/chronic_school_absenteeism_in_the_united_states