FLOYD COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS
AND
ROME CITY SCHOOLS
In Response to:
No Child Left Behind (NCLB) and Adequate
Yearly Progress (AYP), HB 1190 AND SBOE Rule 160-5-1-.10
Point of Interest:
·
The State Board
of Education’s (BOE) Student Attendance Rule defines “Truant” as “any child
subject to compulsory attendance who during the school calendar year has more
than five days of unexcused absences.”
Compulsory attendance is required for children from their sixth to their
sixteenth birthdays. Any student
enrolled in kindergarten a minimum of 20 days comes under the compulsory
attendance law.
·
The No Child Left
Behind (NCLB) attendance requirements for meeting Annual Yearly Progress (AYP)
includes both excused and unexcused absences.
·
The Floyd County
Juvenile Court will only hear petitions dealing with “Truant” students – those
having unexcused absences in their records.
·
It is imperative
that local schools keep accurate data to reflect student’s excused and
unexcused absences.
·
There are proven
“best practices” that local schools can employ to improve student attendance in
both categories. Examples of these are available on the Georgia Department of Education
website, www.doe.k12.ga.us.
·
Parental
involvement in the process is vital to improving student attendance since
“parents, guardians, or other persons who have charge of a child” are
ultimately responsible for that child’s attendance in school.
·
It is important
for credibility within the community that all local schools operate under the
same minimum, consistent student attendance expectations and protocols. Each
school system may exceed these minimum guidelines.
·
School Principals
play a pivotal, primary role in improving student attendance by frequently
communicating the expectations to students, parents and staff.
·
Clearly defined
and consistently followed responsibilities for all school staff are essential
for improving student attendance.
·
The State BOE
Student Attendance Rule includes requirements to be in place by
·
The following
Student Attendance Protocols are designed to address both excused and unexcused
absences, although the State BOE Student Attendance Rule deals only with
Truancy, i.e., unexcused absences.
STUDENT ATTENDANCE PROTOCOLS
Step #1
Schools
will develop and implement active, positive student attendance incentive
programs to support and encourage good daily student attendance.
Step #2
Principal
or their designee sends letters home to parents of all students that emphasizes
the importance of good student attendance in reference to high academic
achievement and to the NCLB requirements for meeting AYP. Schools may want to
post attendance information and expectations on the school websites. It should be noted that direct Principal
participation in this entire process has proven as the most effective means to
promote positive student attendance.
Step #3
Administrators,
teachers, school social workers, counselors and paraprofessionals use every
opportunity to discuss good school attendance when meeting with parents, i.e.
conferences, open houses, newsletters, etc.
Step #4
Before
school begins for the year, principal, or designee sends second letter to the
parents of those students who had 15 or more absences during the previous
school year referencing the importance of good attendance and offering
support. These letters should contain
information informing parents about NCLB, AYP and the State BOE Student
Attendance Rules’ expectations.
Step #5
Before
school begins for the year, the principal or designee notifies teachers of
students in their classes that had 15 or more absences the previous year so
they can be given special positive attention and encouragement.
Step #6
Georgia
Code 20-2-690.1 provides that local
schools will provide to the parent, guardian, or other person having control or
charge of each student enrolled in the school a written summary of possible
consequences and penalties for failing to comply with compulsory attendance. By September 1 of each school year or within
30 days of a student’s enrollment in the school, the parent, guardian, or other
person having control or charge of such student shall sign a statement
indicating receipt of such written statement of possible consequences and
penalties. In addition, students age ten
or older by September 1 shall sign a statement indicating receipt of such
written statement of possible consequences of non-compliance to the school
system’s policy. After two reasonable
attempts by the school to secure such signature or signatures, the school shall
be considered to be in compliance if it sends a copy of the statement, via
certified mail, return receipt requested to such parent, guardian, or other
person who has charge or control of a child or children. These notices to parents can be included
as part of the system’s Student/Parent Disciplinary Handbook to include signed
receipt, or a separate attachment, as the system deems most appropriate.
Step #7
a.
Schools should
make a concerted effort to alert parents each day a student is absent.
b.
Designated school
staff should contact parents each time a student has an unexcused absence to
inquire about the reason for the absence and offer support and encouragement,
as well as remind student and parent of possible consequences. This contact with parents should be on the
day the student returns to school without a valid excuse.
c.
Designated school
staff should contact parents when a student accumulates 5 unexcused absences to
offer support and encouragement. All
contacts should be documented.
d.
It should be
noted that best practices have shown that direct teacher contact with parents
in tracking daily absenteeism to be an effective intervention in these cases.
Step #8
Teachers
should refer students with 5 unexcused and/or 8 excused absences, or a
combination of 10 absences to the School Counselor or designee along with
parent contact documentation. The
school will notify the parent, guardian, or other person having charge or
control of the student when such student has five unexcused absences. The notice shall outline the penalty and
consequences of such absences and that each subsequent absence shall constitute
a separate offense. After two reasonable
attempts to notify the parent, guardian, or person having charge or control of
a student of five unexcused days of absence without response, the school shall
send a written notice via certified mail with return receipt requested.
Step #9
School
Counselor or designee should meet with each student referred in Step #8 and
make contact with the parent to offer support and encouragement, as well as
remind students and parents with unexcused absences of possible consequences in
order to improve student attendance.
Step #10
If
appropriate, based on the reasons known
to the school for a student’s absences, school counselor or assistant principal
should refer to the School Social Worker students with 5 unexcused absences
and/or any excused absences beyond 5 who do not have a doctor’s note.
Step #11
The
School Social Worker notifies the parent of the referral, assesses needs of the
student and/or family, and develops a plan of intervention.
Step #12
Representatives
from
Step #13
All
documentation related to parent contact, grades, discipline problems (if any),
Individualized Education Program (IEP)s, and other relevant information will be
brought to the committee meeting by the school designee. The Truancy Treatment Team, in collaboration
with the parent/guardian, will develop a plan of action that appropriately
addresses the needs of the student and/or family to assist in improving student
attendance. This may include direct
services from the school, i.e., tutoring, mentoring, attendance agreements,
etc., or referrals to appropriate community social service agencies. This plan will also identity the local school
staff that is responsible for student case follow-up. If the student is receiving Special Education
services, consideration should be made to include attendance as an objective on
the student’s IEP and an appropriate special education representative should
attend when needed.
Step #14
If
student does not improve after attending the Truancy Treatment Team, the
Department of Family and Children Services, school social worker or school
attendance officer may file a petition with the Floyd County Juvenile Court for
violation of the Compulsory School Attendance Laws or educational neglect. If appropriate, action may also be taken to
hold the parents of these students responsible for violation of the same laws,
as well as other laws that may be applicable. The School Social Worker or the
school designee, in consultation with the District Attorney’s Office, may seek
a warrant with
Step #15
When
the child appears in Juvenile Court and either admits to the offense or is
found to be truant, the Juvenile Court has the following options:
a.
Continue and hold
the case open for a period of time to see if improvement.
b.
Assign the child
to probation which will include the general conditions of probation as well as
any special conditions such as programs, classes or treatment that may be
appropriate.
c.
Impose a
suspended sentence (such as: child will serve x number of days for any future
day of unexcused absence)
d.
Commitment to the
Department of Juvenile Justice
e.
Place the child
on unsupervised probation.
Step #16
1.
Place the case in
Pre-Trial Diversion, with an agreement that upon completion of terms and
conditions, the charges can be dismissed upon approval of the District Attorney
or his/her designee.
2.
File an
accusation in the Superior Court, and the case will then be assigned to an
Assistant District Attorney, (