Attendance and Truancy Guidance - Baltimore City …

1 Attendance and Truancy Guidance Purpose: Create district-wide Attendance standards, best practices, policies and protocols that equip schools to support students and families. Outline expected school-based interventions for student absences. Overview: Baltimore City Public Schools is committed to ensuring the academic success of all students and making sure that every student is in school every day is the first step in achieving that success. The Office of Attendance and Truancy is committed to identifying the support and resources necessary for all Baltimore City Public Schools students to attend school daily and arrive on time. By implementing Attendance policies and practices that promote prevention, intervention and engagement, the Office of Attendance and Truancy in partnership with the community, works to accelerate the academic achievement of all students by providing schools, students and families with the tools needed to successfully combat the barriers to daily school Attendance .

2 Even missing 1 day a month can put a student at academic risk. We know that students who go to school every day o are more likely to be reading on grade level by 3rd grade. o perform better on standardized tests. o are more likely to graduate high school. o have increased access to college and career readiness opportunities. City Schools Essential: Safe, Supportive Learning Environment That Promotes High Achievement for Every Student. Governing Policy/Regulatory Implications: COMAR states that each child who resides in Maryland and is 5 years old or older and under 16 years of age, shall attend a public school regularly during the entire school year unless the child is otherwise receiving regular, thorough instruction during the school year in the studies usually taught in the public schools to children of the same age.

3 1 | Page 9/30/2014 COMAR states that each local school system shall develop a student Attendance policy which includes: (A) A general statement dealing with the local school system's purpose and rationale for promoting regular school Attendance and (B) Rules, Definitions, and Procedures for Policy Implementation. Note: Starting in SY15-16, COMAR s compulsory age will increase to 17 years of age and starting in SY 17-18 it will increase to 18 years of age. Attendance Definitions: o Average daily Attendance (ADA) ADA is generally understood as the percent of enrolled students who attend school each day. o Chronic absence In the state of Maryland, chronic absence is missing more than 10% of school days, which equates to 20 days absent by the end of the school year. This includes excused or unexcused absences and is calculated once at the end of the school year.

4 O Consecutive absences Two or more absences that occur right after each other. o Excused absences An absence for any portion of the day under the following conditions, which are considered legally acceptable as per COMAR: illness, court summons, hazardous weather conditions, work approved or school sponsored, observance of a religious holiday, state emergency, suspension, lack of authorized school transportation, other emergency circumstances, death in the immediate family. o Full day Attendance - Students are counted present for a full day if they are in Attendance at least four hours of the school day. o Habitually truant Students are habitually truant when they miss more than 20% of school days, which equates to 37 days absent by the end of the school year. This only includes absences without a legal reason. o Half day Attendance - Students are counted present for a half-day if they are in Attendance for at least two hours of the school day, but less than four hours.

5 Students attending less than two hours are considered absent. o Sporadic absences Absences that occur in an irregular pattern. o Tardy Students are considered tardy if they arrive to school or class five minutes after the first bell. o Truancy Any unexcused absence constitutes Truancy . o Unexcused absence - An absence for any portion of the day that is not excused due to one of the legally acceptable reasons outlined by COMAR and listed above. Procedures: Excused Absences: The following circumstances constitute an excused absence only after the family has provided documentation to the Attendance monitor within five business days of the date of absence: 2 | Page 7/1/2014 1. Illness: o An absence may only be marked as excused if it is due to the student s illness. Absences due to family illnesses are not considered excused absences, unless the illness is the child of a parenting-student.

6 O Absences due to an illness that lasts up to 3 consecutive days may be excused by submitting a parent s note. Parenting-students missing up to 3 consecutive days due to their child s absence may submit a letter to the school explaining their absence. o Absences due to an illness that lasts 4 or more consecutive days requires a doctor s note to be marked as an excused absence. Parenting-students should submit a doctor s note showing that they have taken their sick child to the doctor. o Well visits or dental visits during school hours should be considered excused after a doctor s note has been submitted. 2. Death in the immediate family: o For the purposes of this policy, immediate family is defined as a student s parent (s), legal guardian (s), sibling (s), grandparent (s), aunt (s), uncle (s), cousin (s)and any individuals physically residing in the same home as the student.

7 O A student may be granted up to 3 excused absences for the death of an immediate family member whose funeral or memorial services are held in Maryland. Students may be granted additional days for services being held outside of Maryland by the principal of the school or designee. o The parent/guardian must provide documentation in order for the absence(s) to be marked excused. An obituary, newspaper announcement, death certificate or a parent note are acceptable forms of documentation. 3. Court summons: o The child s name must be on the summons. o A copy of the summons or official communication from the court must be submitted to the school. 4. Religious holiday: o A student may be granted up to 3 excused consecutive absences in observance of a religious holiday. o The parent/guardian must provide a note to the school in order for the absence(s) to be marked excused.

8 5. Hazardous weather conditions: o During inclement weather where the district remains open, but conditions may be hazardous for some families, the CEO or designee may grant schools permission to use the Hazardous Weather - V SMS code for families that submit a note explaining their situation. Communications to schools regarding any 3 | Page 7/1/2014 exceptions and the use of the hazardous weather conditions will be sent via City Schools Inside. In any of the above situations, principals may use their discretion to grant a student additional (but not fewer) excused absences. The following circumstances constitute an automatic excused absence and do not require documentation from the student/family: 1. Work activities that have been sponsored or approved by the school, the district, or the state: o The activities must be approved by the principal, CEO or designee.

9 O The principal may request documentation as needed. 2. State emergency 3. Suspension: o After a student s suspension is documented in SMS, absences should be marked as excused. 4. Lack of authorized transportation: o Absences that are incurred while a student is waiting for district-approved transportation services to begin are excused. o This applies to homeless students, special education students, and student transfers waiting for transportation services that have been approved. Unexcused Absences: An absence during any portion of the day that does not constitute an excused absence, as outlined above, is considered an unexcused absence. Examples of unexcused absences are: o Babysitting a sibling or other family member o Taking a parent or other family member to a doctors appointment o Taking a family vacation o Visiting the Motor Vehicle Administration to take a road test Attendance Monitors: Each school must identify an Attendance monitor.

10 The Attendance monitor s role is critical to the school s ability to proactively tackle the issue of student absenteeism. Attendance monitors should be skilled in the following areas: o Communicating in a positive manner with students and families. o Building partnerships with school based staff and community partners. o Using data to identify trends, challenges and strategic next steps. 4 | Page 7/1/2014 The Attendance monitor s duties include: o Daily recording, processing, submitting and monitoring student Attendance : o Ensuring teachers have entered Attendance daily. o Ensuring accuracy of Attendance entered into SMS. o Collecting documentation on absences and entering updates into SMS within 5 business days of receipt. o Implementing Attendance procedures for students: o Communicating with school based staff (including SST, IEP, health professionals, Guidance counselors, social workers, teachers, administrators) and where necessary, with the Office of Attendance & Truancy , network staff, and community partners.