Students

5008

Policy

Students

Student Attendance

Attendance Policy and Excessive Absenteeism

Regular and punctual student attendance is required. The administration is responsible for developing further attendance rules and regulations, and all staff are expected to implement this policy and administrative rules and regulations to encourage regular and punctual student attendance. The Principals and teachers are required to maintain an accurate record of student attendance.

A. Attendance and Absences.

1. Circumstances of Absences – Definitions. The circumstances for all absences from school will be identified as School Excused or Not School Excused. Absences should be cleared through the Principal's office in advance whenever possible. All absences, except for illness and/or death in the family, require advance approval.

a. School Excused. Any of the following circumstances that lead to an absence will be identified as a School Excused absence, provided the required attendance procedures have been followed:

(1) Impossible or impracticable barriers outside the control of the parent or child prevent a student from attending school. The parent must provide the school with documentation to demonstrate the absence was beyond the control of the parent or child. This could include, but is not limited to documented illness, court, death of a family member, or suspension.

(2) Other absences as determined by the principal or the principal’s designee.

b. Not School Excused. Absences that are not school excused may result in a report to the county attorney and may be classified as follows:

(1) Parent acknowledged absences are those in which the parent communicated with the school in the prescribed manner that the child is absent and is the parent’s responsibility for the extent of the school day. This includes, but is not limited to, illness, vacations, and medical appointments.

(2) Other absences are those in which the parent has not communicated a reason for the student’s absence.

2. Absence Procedure. In its Student Information System, the District may identify many different codes that provide greater definition to the circumstances of a child’s absence, but all of the codes need to be identified to parents and students as fitting into one of the above defined absence circumstances.

3. Mandatory Ages of Attendance. A child is of mandatory age if the child will reach age 6 prior to January 1 of the then-current school year and has not reached 18 years of age.

Exceptions for Younger Students. Attendance is not mandatory for a child who has reached 6 years of age prior to January 1 of the then-current school year, but will not reach age 7 prior to January 1 of such school year, if the child’s parent or guardian has signed and filed with the school district in which the child resides an affidavit stating either: (1) that the child is participating in an education program that the parent or guardian believes will prepare the child to enter grade one for the following school year; or (2) that the parent or guardian intends for the child to participate in a school which has elected or will elect pursuant to law not to meet accreditation or approval requirements and the parent or guardian intends to provide the Commissioner of Education with a statement pursuant to section 79-1601(3) on or before the child’s seventh birthday.

Exceptions for Older Students. Attendance is also not mandatory for a child who: (1) has obtained a high school diploma by meeting statutory graduation requirements; (2) has completed the program of instruction offered by a school which elects pursuant to law not to meet accreditation or approval requirements; or (3) has reached the age of 16 years and has been withdrawn from school in the manner prescribed by law.

Early Withdrawal for Students Enrolled in Accredited or Approved Schools. A person who has legal or actual charge or control of a child who is at least 16 but less than 18 years of age may withdraw such child from school before graduation and be exempt from the mandatory attendance requirements if an exit interview is conducted and a withdrawal form is signed.

Exit Interview. The process is initiated by a person who has legal or actual charge or control of the child submitting a withdrawal form. The form is to be as prescribed by the Commissioner of Education. Upon submission of the form, the Superintendent or Superintendent’s designee shall set a time and place for an exit interview if the child is enrolled in [Name] Public Schools or resides in the [Name] Public School District and is enrolled in a private, denominational, or parochial school.

The exit interview shall be personally attended by:

· The child, unless the withdrawal is being requested due to an illness of the child making attendance at the exit interview impossible or impracticable;

· the person who has legal or actual charge or control of the child who requested the exit interview;

· the Superintendent or Superintendent's designee;

· the child's principal or the principal's designee if the child at the time of the exit interview is enrolled in a school operated by the school district; and

· any other person requested by any of the required parties who agrees to attend the exit interview and is available at the time designated for the exit interview which may include, for example, other school personnel or the child's principal if the child is enrolled in a private school.

At the exit interview, the person making the written request must present evidence that (a) the person has legal or actual charge or control of the child and (b) the child would be withdrawing due to either:

· financial hardships requiring the child to be employed to support the child’s family or one or more dependents of the child, or

· an illness of the child making attendance impossible or impracticable.

The Superintendent or Superintendent’s designee shall identify all known alternative educational opportunities, including vocational courses of study, that are available to the child in the school district and how withdrawing from school is likely to reduce potential future earnings for the child and increase the likelihood of the child being unemployed in the future. Any other relevant information may be presented and discussed by any of the parties in attendance.

At the conclusion of the exit interview, the person making the written request may sign a withdrawal form provided by the school district agreeing to the withdrawal of the child OR may rescind the written request for the withdrawal.

Withdrawal Form. Any withdrawal form signed by the person making the written request shall be valid only if:

· the child also signs the form, unless the withdrawal is being requested due to an illness of the child making attendance at the exit interview impossible or impracticable, and

· the Superintendent or Superintendent’s designee signs the form acknowledging that the interview was held, the required information was provided and discussed at the interview, and, in the opinion of the Superintendent or Superintendent’s designee, the person making the written request does in fact have legal or actual charge or control of the child and the child is experiencing either (i) financial hardship, or (ii) an illness making attendance impossible or impracticable.

Early Withdrawal for Students Enrolled in an Exempt School (Home Schools). A person who has legal or actual charge or control of a child who is at least 16 but less than 18 years of age may withdraw such child from school before graduation and be exempt from the mandatory attendance requirements if such child has been enrolled in a school that elects not to meet the accreditation or approval requirements by filing with the State Department of Education a signed notarized release on a form prescribed by the Commissioner of Education.

4. Reporting and Responding to Excessive Absenteeism. Any administrator, teacher, or member of the board of education who knows of any failure on the part of any child of mandatory school attendance age to attend school regularly without lawful reason, shall within three days report such violation to the superintendent or such person(s) who the superintendent designates to be the attendance officer (hereafter, “attendance officer”). The attendance officer shall immediately cause an investigation into any such report to be made. The attendance officer shall also investigate any case when of his or her personal knowledge, or by report or complaint from any resident of the district, the attendance officer believes there is a violation of the compulsory attendance laws. The school shall render all services in its power to compel such child to attend some public, private, denominational, or parochial school, which the person having control of the child shall designate, in an attempt to address the problem of excessive absenteeism. Such services shall include, as appropriate, the services listed below under “Excessive Absenteeism” and “Reporting Excessive Absenteeism.”

5. Excessive Absenteeism. Students who accumulate seven (7) unexcused absences in a quarter shall be deemed to have “excessive absences.” Such absences shall be determined on a per day basis for elementary students and on a per class basis for secondary students. When a student has excessive absences, the following procedures shall be implemented:

a. Verbal or written communication by school officials with the person or persons who have legal or actual charge or control of any child; and

b. One or more meetings between the school and the county attendance officer, the child’s parent or guardian, and the child, when appropriate, to address the barriers to attendance. The result of the meeting or meetings shall be to develop a collaborative plan to reduce barriers identified to improve regular attendance. The plan shall consider, but not be limited to:

(i) Illness related to physical or behavioral health of the child.

(ii) Educational counseling;

(iii) Educational evaluation;

(iv) Referral to community agencies for economic services;

(v) Family or individual counseling; and

(vi) Assisting the family in working with other community services.

If the parent/guardian refuses to participate in such meeting, the principal shall place documentation of such refusal in the child’s attendance records.