Responding to Excessive Absenteeism
School staff will follow District procedures to address attendance concerns:
- Maintain written documentation of absences
- Establish contact with parents/guardians
- Engage staff to create and implement intervention and communication plan(s)
- Consult the appropriate Learning Supports staff when illness is reported as a reason for excessive absenteeism
- Access other agencies and partners, as appropriate
If a student has been absent for 70 hours of instructional time, for reasons other than a health condition verified by a school nurse, and the building level administration has exhausted every means available (phone calls, letters, home visits, etc.) to the school to assure that the student is in regular attendance, the following should occur:
1. The school administrator will inform the parents/guardians in writing that due to the lack of improvement in the attendance of their child, the school will be referring the student and the parent/guardian to the District Truancy Officer for further action.
2. A Request for Action will be made to the District Truancy Officer.
3. The District Truancy Officer will request a meeting with the parent/guardian to mediate a plan of action to correct the attendance problem.
4. If the parent/guardian does not respond, and/or the above plan of action fails to produce an improvement in attendance, and/or the student accumulates 108 hours of unexcused absences, the Request for Action packet may be forwarded to the County Attorney’s Office.
5. The County Attorney’s Office will make the final decision in regard to prosecution or course of action to get and keep the student in school.
6. A district-level administrator will make the final decision regarding removal of a student from the student information system.
- Approved: 04-05-93
- Reviewed: 07-15-96
- Revised: 11-23-98, 03-24-08
- Procedure 602.3a Rescinded: 06-13-11
- Procedure Approved: 06-13-11
- Revised: 02-22-16, 04-12-2021
- Documents: 602b
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