Brantley County School System Student Attendance Protocol

Brantley County School SystemStudent Attendance Protocol1

ATTENDANCE/BEHAVIOR AND THE TEEN-AGE DRIVER RESPONSIBILITYACTState law requires schools to report to the Department of Public Safety monthlyenrollment, attendance and suspension information regarding student between the ages of15-17 and who have:1. Dropped out of school.2. Had more than 10 school days of unexcused absences in any semester.3. Been suspended from school for harming a teacher or other school personnel,possession or sale of drugs or alcohol on school property, possession or use of aweapon as defined in Code Section 16-11-127.1 on school property, and anysexual offense prohibited under Chapter 6 of Title 16 of state law, or causingsubstantial physical or visible bodily harm to or seriously disfiguring anotherperson, including a student.This act states that a previously issued driver permit or license shall be suspended forminors with any of the violations listed above.LOCAL POLICIES RELATING TO ATTENDANCEBoard PolicyAbsences and ExcusesDescriptor Code: JBDAbsences due to the reasons listed below shall be counted as excused absences.1. Personal illness. A student whose attendance in school would endanger his/herhealth or the health of others is excused as necessary.2. Serious illness or death in the student’s immediate family.3. Special and recognized religious holidays observing the student’s faith.4. A mandate by order of governmental agencies, e.g., pre-induction physicalexamination for service in armed forces or a court order.5. Conditions rendering school attendance impossible or hazardous to thestudent’s health or safety.6. Registration to vote (not to exceed one day).Absences During the School Year1. Any student who has been absent from school shall bring a note signed by theparent or guardian explaining the reason for the absence. The note is due theday the student returns to school.2. Individual students who have situations necessitating their absence fromschool for a portion of the school day must be present for one half of theinstructional day to be counted present for the day. However, the student willbe counted absent from those classes, which are missed due to the late arrivalor early dismissal. When a student is to be excused for a portion of the schoolday, the student shall be released only to a legal parent or guardian, to a5

person properly identified to school authorities or upon written request orverified telephone call from the parents or guardian.3. A student in grades K-8 who has excessive absences (15 per year) during aschool year is in danger of not being promoted. Students, whose absenceswere due to a documented personal illness, death in the family, or special andrecognized religious holidays, may receive special consideration.4. A student in grades 9-12 who has more than in a class per semester may notreceive Carnegie unit credit for that class.Excessive Absences1. The following provisions apply to absences during a school year.2. Days students are absent due to out-of-school suspension shall not count asunexcused absences for the purposes of determining truancy(S.B.O.E. 160-5-1-.10).3. After _3-5_____Absences:a. Excused Absences: The teacher will contact the parent or guardian bytelephone or parental conference regarding attendance when possible. Ifcontact is unsuccessful, then a letter or postcard will be sent.b. Unexcused Absences: After two reasonable attempts to notify the parent,guardian, or other person who has control or charge of a child of fiveunexcused absence without response, the school shall send a notice to suchparent, guardian, or other person by certified mail, return receipt requested.The letter is to include a copy of the Compulsory Attendance Law (O.C.G.A.20-20690.1)4. After __________Unexcused Absences by students 14 years old and older,schools and/or school social workers shall notify students they have onlythree unexcused absences remaining prior to violating the attendancerequirements contained in subsection (a.1) of O.C.G.A. 40-5-22.5. After ____6-10__ Absences:a. Excused: A letter will be sent from a school administrator to the parent orguardian regarding attendance. This letter should not be sent for a child withdocumented illness unless the school’s administration and/or the school socialworker determines it necessary. In addition, an administrator shall conferwith a School Social Worker to determine whether a referral is warranted, atthis time.b. Unexcused: A letter will be sent from a school administrator to the parent orguardian regarding attendance. If the student is between 14 and 18 years ofage and the ten unexcused absences are within one semester or twoconsecutive quarters, his/her eligibility to obtain or retain an instructionpermit or driver’s license may be impacted.6. After ___11-15_ Absences:a. Excused: A school administrator shall confer with a School Social Worker todetermine whether a referral is warranted, at this time.6

. Unexcused: A referral shall be made to the School Social Worker using thesocial work form.c. If a referral is made to the School Social Worker, an administrator must signthe form and all relevant correspondence and documentation must beattached. The Social Worker will work with the student and family in order toaddress the attendance problem. The Social Worker shall involve agenciesand services such as mental health, social service agencies, clinic assistant orschool nurse, student and parent groups, truancy panel, and Department ofFamily and Children Services. If the Social Worker interventions areunsuccessful, a complaint shall be filed in the appropriate court of law.Student WithdrawalsAdministrators in the Brantley County School System are authorized to withdraw astudent who:• Has missed more than 10 consecutive days of unexcused absences;• Is not subject to compulsory school attendance; and• Is not receiving instructional services from the local school systemthrough homebound instruction or instructional services required by thefederal Individual with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).Parental Notification of Student WithdrawalThe Superintendent or the superintendent’s designee shall use his or her best efforts tonotify the parent(s), guardian(s), or other person(s) who has charge of a student if theschool system plans to withdraw such student who is younger than 18 years of age and isnot subject to compulsory school attendance.The Brantley County School System is authorized to withdraw a student subject tocompulsory attendance only if the local superintendent or the superintendent’s designeehas determined the student is no longer a resident of the local school system or is enrolledin a private school or home study program.Brantley County School System Attendance Checklist(Steps to be taken prior to Court referral)1. Before any court referral is considered, casework should have been initiatedwith students and their families, including a minimum of 3 home visits or7

other forms of direct contact (phone call) with the family (where a home visit isnot possible or appropriate).2. For families where there has been little or no direct contact, court referralsshould be considered where the family has consistently failed to comply withappointments or refused to work with Student Services Personnel.3. Court referral should also be considered• in cases where students are not attending school at all and noresolution can be reached;• in cases where poor attendance is ongoing over a period of timeand no sustained improvement is seen, and• in certain cases where tardiness is a chronic problem.4. The case should then be discussed with school personnel and if it is agreedthat court referral is suitable, a system waning letter should be sent by theschool social worker. It is the responsibility of the school social worker toensure that copies of the letter are filed and /or sent to agencies or individualsas appropriate.5. If, following a period of approximately 2 - 4 weeks, during which timecasework is ongoing, there is no improvement, the school social worker shallsubmit the Court referral.6. The school social worker is expected to attend hearings at the designatedCourt when appropriate.Finally, throughout the course of any legal action being taken, school systemcasework should continue because it is critical, particularly in cases wherestudents are completely out of school, that truancy does not go unattended.8