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501.10 TRUANCY - UNEXCUSED ABSENCES

Regular attendance by the students at school is essential for students to obtain the maximum opportunities from the education program.  Parents and students alike are encouraged to ensure an absence from school is a necessary absence.  Students will attend school unless excused by the principal of their attendance center.

 

Truancy is the failure to attend school for the minimum number of days established in the school calendar by the board.  Truancy is the act of being absent without a reasonable excuse.  These absences will include, but not be limited to, tardiness, shopping, hunting, concerts, preparation or participation in parties and other celebrations and employment.  Truancy will not be tolerated by the board.

 

Students are subject to disciplinary action for truancy including suspension and expulsion.  It is within the discretion of the principal to determine, in light of the circumstances, whether a student may make up work missed because of truancy.  Students receiving special education services will not be assigned to supervised study hall, in-school suspension unless the goals and objectives of the student's Individualized Education Program are capable of being met.

 

It is the responsibility of the superintendent, in conjunction with the principal, to develop administrative regulations regarding this policy.  The administrative regulations will indicate the disciplinary action to be taken for truancy.

 

 

 

Legal Reference:         

Iowa Code §§ 294.4; 299 (2013).

281 I.A.C. 12.2(4).

 

 

Cross Reference:        

206.3   Secretary

410.3   Truancy Officer

501      Student Attendance

503      Student Discipline

504      Student Activities

506      Student Records

 

 

Approved January 2007                Reviewed July 2021         Revised                   

Attendance: School Day Students may be present on school grounds before 7:45 a.m. or after 3:45 p.m. only when they are under the supervision of an employee or an extracurricular activity sponsor. If school is dismissed early, students are expected to leave the school grounds within fifteen minutes of dismissal. General Attendance Policy It is the responsibility of the Cardinal Community School District to ensure that all school members will work to challenge and support students in the pursuit of their highest levels of academic and personal achievement. Recognizing the strong relationship between regular attendance for each class and high academic achievement, the District will establish a clear attendance system. Such a system will promote this relationship and hold students accountable for regular attendance. It is essential that Cardinal Community School District students and their families take responsibility for knowing and following the Attendance Policy. ALL STUDENTS ABSENT FROM SCHOOL MUST HAVE AN EXCUSE. Examples: Medical documented illness (from a doctor or the school nurse) Medical documented appointment (from a physician, dentist, etc.) Funeral (documented with slip from funeral service) Court documented appointment (from Juvenile Court, DHS, etc.) School sponsored activity: A parent or guardian may call their student out of school 6 days per school year for other reasons. (These days are verified, not excused) Any day beyond 6 per semester, without a documented excuse for the absence, is considered unexcused. Steps will begin towards mediation for excessive absenteeism. Reviewing the Steps: 6th Non-Excused Absence- Warning letter notifying parent/guardian that their 6 verifiable days have been reached and requesting documentation for any further absences. 9th Non-Excused Absence- Phone contact and possible home visit 12th Non-Excused Absence- Mandatory Attendance Meeting with At-Risk Coordinator and Administrator: parent or guardian will be served notice & County Attorney will be provided a copy of the notice. Continued Non-Excused Absences- Referred for legal action by the County Attorney. *High School Absence Policy: Students who acquire a total of 15 absences (unexcused) per semester in any particular course may be subjected to the loss of credit for that course. Excessive Absenteeism, Appeals Process, & Application of Sanctions Suspensions from class [either in-school suspensions or out-of-school suspension] will be treated as school- initiated student absences and will not count toward the days absent. However, the student will be required to make up work missed while in suspension. In the event that the work is not completed at the end of the suspension, a time will be designated by the principal to make up the work (guided study, before/after school, Saturday school, additional suspension, etc.) School work missed because of absences must be made up within two times the number of days absent, not to exceed 6 days. The time allowed for make-up work may be extended at the discretion of the classroom teacher. Application of Sanctions Unexcused and excused absences will not be added together to count towards application of sanctions. Excessive unexcused absences will result in the following: If a student is absent more than 15 days unexcused from any given class in a semester, the student may not be eligible to receive credit from that class. If a student loses credit, that fact is recorded in the student's record as an ("AD") [Administrative drop], or “AW" [administrative withdrawal). Students who are absent without a reasonable excuse, as determined by the principal, will be assigned to [guided study hall, detention, early bird school, Saturday school, in-school suspension, or other appropriate disciplinary sanction]. Reasonable excuses include reasons listed under General Attendance Policy. A student who loses credit due to excessive absences may be assigned to [guided study hall, detention, early bird school, Saturday school, in-school suspension, alternative school or other appropriate disciplinary sanction] for the period(s) in which the course(s) meet or the student may be reassigned to another class or location. A student who, after a hearing before the board, loses credit in all courses due to unexcused absences, will not be allowed to participate in any school activities until the following semester. However, the student is eligible to practice if all other eligibility criteria have been met. Appeals First level of appeal When notified that the student has missed 6 (days or class periods), the parent should contact the teacher and principal to discuss the student's attendance and prevent any further absences. When notified that the student has exceeded 12 absences and that the student may be dropped from a class, the student and parent may file a written appeal with the building administrator within 5 school days of the notification. Sanctions imposed under this policy will be final unless a written appeal is submitted to the building administrator. Written appeals will be referred to the building administrator The student will remain in the class or in school pending completion of the appeals process. The informal appeals hearing will be scheduled within 10 school days after the appeal is filed. The SAT will consider the following in reaching a decision: absences caused by religious holidays, documented chronic or extended illness, hospitalization, family death or emergency, emergency medical or dental care, court appearances or other legal situations beyond the control of the family, school-related class or program activities; attendance history of the student; extenuating circumstances particular to the student; educational alternatives to removal from class or school; or the total educational program for the individual student. The decision of the SAT will be reached within one day of the hearing. The parent will be notified of the decision in writing. Second Level of Appeal Students and parents seeking a review of the SAT decision regarding sanctions rendered under this attendance policy may do so by filing a written request for review with the superintendent within five days after the SAT decision. The superintendent will determine an agreeable time, place and date for the review and notify the student and parent. At the conclusion of the review, the superintendent will affirm, reverse or modify the SAT decision. Appeal to Board of Directors Students and parents may appeal the superintendent's decision by filing a written request for review by the board within five days with the board secretary. It is within the discretion of the board to determine whether to hear the appeal. If the appeal is accepted, the board secretary will determine an agreeable time, place and date for the review and notify the interested persons. At the conclusion of the review, the board may affirm, reverse or modify the superintendent's decision. Compulsory Attendance In accordance with the State of Iowa’s compulsory attendance code 299.1A, students who are under the age of 16 years old before September 15 of the current school year are required to be in attendance at school. If a compulsory attendee is absent unexcused 15 times in one school year, the county attorney will be notified. Referral to the county attorney could result in possible investigation and/or prosecution of the parents for truancy. a. First Offense: Up to ten days in jail, or $100 fine, or 40 hours of unpaid community service. a. Second Offense: Up to 20 days in jail and/or $500 fine, or unspecified number community service hours in lieu of fine or jail sentence (serious misdemeanor). Third Offense: Up to 30 days in jail, and/or fine of up to $1000, or an unspecified number of community service hours Attendance Responsibilities of the Students: -It is the responsibility of each student to: Attend all classes on a daily basis. Monitor the total number of absences in each course. Report any errors to the teacher of the course within 3 days of absence. After which, the absence will remain unexcused. Monitor the total number of school authorized absences. When more than three class periods of a specific course are missed during a quarter, the student will appeal to the teacher to be out of the class for any subsequent school authorized activities. Ensure that a parent or guardian calls the attendance office prior to absence or within 24 hours after an absence. Attend every class that is considered to be his/her “official” and “current” schedule. Students should not discontinue attendance to a class if he/she anticipates changing or dropping that class. Until the class is officially dropped and the counselor has provided a new “official” schedule, students are expected to attend each of the classes on their schedule. Failure to do so will constitute an unexcused absence. Report, when ill, to the Health Office. Follow all check-in and check-out procedures. Contact teacher to arrange make-up work. Communicate with a teacher when approaching the limit of school authorized absences. Complete detention for unexcused absences within 48 hours of notification, Ensure that a teacher changes the absence notation to a tardy (within the first 7 minutes,) if a student is late to class. Complete required detention hours within the required timeframe for a truancy absence. Complete all make-up work for all absence types within the allotted time. Tardy Policy Secondary Building: Students are expected to be in their assigned areas at designated times. Being to class on time is essential. Not only are you missing important information, it is a sign of respect toward your teacher and fellow classmates. Students who arrive to class after the final bell are considered tardy. We will be implementing the Genius Hour Bell Schedule, which will have 3-minute passing times between classes. There will not be a bell at the beginning or end of class. The teachers will dismiss students at the appropriate times. A 1-minute warning bell will sound to signify that students have one minute to get to class on time. These policies are put in place with the understanding that students will be getting to class on time before the final bell rings. Teachers will be instructed to strictly mark students tardy that are not in their classrooms before the final bell. In addition, clear consequences for students failing to get to class on time will be stringently enforced. Our tardy policy will be as follows: Per Semester: all classes combined: *6th tardy: mandatory 60 minute after school detention with after school detentions to follow on every three subsequent tardies (9th, 12th, 15th, etc) In addition: Parents and student will meet with At-Risk Coordinator upon the 15th tardy. Parents and student will meet with At-Risk Coordinator and Principal upon the 21st tardy. Student Expectations: Be to class on time. Have a valid pass when not on time. Comply with any consequences associated with this policy. Teacher Expectations: Take attendance within the first five minutes of every class. Hold students accountable when tardy to class. Verify passes when they are presented. Be consistent with the implementation of this policy with all students and all classes equally. Administrator Expectations: Ensure the policy is being enforced by teachers and complied with by students. Issue consequences when necessary and contact parents. Make adjustments to the policy and consequences to ensure success of policy. Parent Expectations: Discuss the importance of arriving to class on time with their child. Support the administration when consequences are issued.