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Attendance
compiled by education new york online
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Scroll down to read entries organized by topic alphabetically OR use the topic links at the right to jump to categories of interest.
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Updated Wednesday August 29, 2007 08:24 PM
AdministrationSection 3211 - Title IV, Article 65, Part I -- Records of attendance upon instruction| Date Captured | Monday May 14, 2007 09:00 PM | | Sec. 3211. Records of attendance upon instruction.
1. Who shall keep such record. The teacher of every minor required by the provisions of part one of this article to attend upon instruction, or any other school district employee as may be designated by the commissioner of education under section three thousand twenty-four of this chapter, shall keep an accurate record of the attendance and absence of such minor. Such record shall be in such form as may be prescribed by the commissioner of education.
2. Certificates of attendance to be presumptive evidence. A duly certified transcript of the record of attendance and absence of a child which has been kept, as provided in this section, shall be accepted as presumptive evidence of the attendance of such child in any proceeding brought under the provisions of part one of this article.
3. Inspection of records of attendance. An attendance officer, or any other duly authorized representative of the school authorities, may at any time during school hours, demand the production of the records of attendance of minors required to be kept by the provisions of part one of this article, and may inspect or copy the same and make all proper inquiries of a teacher or principal concerning the records and the attendance of such minors.
4. Duties of principal or person in charge of the instruction of a minor. The principal of a school, or other person in charge of the instruction upon which a minor attends, as provided by part one of this article, shall cause the record of his attendance to be kept and produced and all appropriate inquiries in relation thereto answered as hereinbefore required. He shall give prompt notification in writing to the school authorities of the city or district of the discharge or transfer of any such minor from attendance upon instruction, stating the date of the discharge, its cause, the name of the minor, his date of birth, his place of residence prior to and following discharge, if such place of residence be known, and the name of the person in parental relation to the minor.
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| FERPANew Illinois truancy law clashes with federal law| Date Captured | Sunday June 17, 2007 11:41 PM | | "Another new law is coming that could further drive down truancy rates in Rockford schools. It threatens something that many teenagers hold dear: their driver’s licenses."
"Starting July 1, the new state law requires Illinois school districts to report chronic and habitual truants to Secretary of State Jesse White.
Students on the list will not be allowed to obtain a learner’s permit or driver’s license until they are 18, unless the School District certifies that the applicant has resumed regular school attendance.
Rockford School District attorney Stephen Katz raises one concern with the new law — another law, called the Federal Education Rights and Privacy Act, prohibits sharing student records without parental permission to all but a select group of agencies."
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| GraduationDriving privilege linked to attendance helps keep students in school| Date Captured | Saturday June 02, 2007 10:42 AM | | Jackson County Floridan reports, "When high school graduation ceremonies took place across Florida recently, it's probable a state attendance law passed in 2004 kept at least some of the students from dropping out." |
| Information PolicyComputers hacked at Hilton Head Island High| Date Captured | Friday June 01, 2007 07:03 PM | | The Island Packet reports, "It’s unclear how a hacker could have penetrated the computer network to get access to the students’ attendance records, both Ryan and Hudson said.
'We thought we had put in as many stop-gaps as we could,' Ryan said. She said the records are maintained on a 'statewide database — it’s not a local system they hacked into.'”
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| Section 3211 - Title IV, Article 65, Part I -- Records of attendance upon instruction| Date Captured | Monday May 14, 2007 09:00 PM | | Sec. 3211. Records of attendance upon instruction.
1. Who shall keep such record. The teacher of every minor required by the provisions of part one of this article to attend upon instruction, or any other school district employee as may be designated by the commissioner of education under section three thousand twenty-four of this chapter, shall keep an accurate record of the attendance and absence of such minor. Such record shall be in such form as may be prescribed by the commissioner of education.
2. Certificates of attendance to be presumptive evidence. A duly certified transcript of the record of attendance and absence of a child which has been kept, as provided in this section, shall be accepted as presumptive evidence of the attendance of such child in any proceeding brought under the provisions of part one of this article.
3. Inspection of records of attendance. An attendance officer, or any other duly authorized representative of the school authorities, may at any time during school hours, demand the production of the records of attendance of minors required to be kept by the provisions of part one of this article, and may inspect or copy the same and make all proper inquiries of a teacher or principal concerning the records and the attendance of such minors.
4. Duties of principal or person in charge of the instruction of a minor. The principal of a school, or other person in charge of the instruction upon which a minor attends, as provided by part one of this article, shall cause the record of his attendance to be kept and produced and all appropriate inquiries in relation thereto answered as hereinbefore required. He shall give prompt notification in writing to the school authorities of the city or district of the discharge or transfer of any such minor from attendance upon instruction, stating the date of the discharge, its cause, the name of the minor, his date of birth, his place of residence prior to and following discharge, if such place of residence be known, and the name of the person in parental relation to the minor.
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| NationalFlorida Attendance Law| Date Captured | Saturday June 02, 2007 10:50 AM | |
| | Recent State Policies/Activities: Attendance | Date Captured | Sunday May 13, 2007 09:08 AM | | Education Commission of the States -- The following summary includes policies enacted since 2000. |
| National Compulsory School Age Requirements| Date Captured | Sunday May 13, 2007 08:55 AM | | Education Commission of the States -- Compulsory school attendance refers to the minimum and maximum age required by each state in which a student must be enrolled in and attending public school or some equivalent education program defined by the law. |
| California Attendance Improvement | Date Captured | Sunday April 15, 2007 09:23 AM | | Involves three elements to reinforce regular school attendance: prevention, early identification, and intervention. |
| New York StateOrange-Ulster BOCES Attendance Policy| Date Captured | Friday May 18, 2007 09:17 AM | |
| NewsTruancy could result in tickets| Date Captured | Saturday August 18, 2007 07:59 PM | | Farmington Press reports, "The absence policy is on a semester basis. After three absences, a letter is sent to the parents about the school attendance policy. This letter is sent out automatically to those students who have missed that number of days, even if they have a doctor’s excuse.
'There is a contact number to call on the letter. Many times, parents who have received this first letter will call and say they have sent doctor’s excuses,' said Swinarski. 'They should not worry — if they’ve called, then that means they’re doing what they should do.'
She explained this also gives parents an opportunity to perhaps let the district know about a certain health issue a child may have that can keep them from attending school.
'We can help them in whatever way they may need (after reviewing the case),' she said.
A letter is also sent when a student has six absences in a semester. At seven absences, more steps are put into place.
'When a student reaches that seventh day, a letter is sent to the parents saying that anymore absences over that number would not allow the student to make up the work. We send out a date and time for a meeting that we would like to discuss this with them,' said Burch." |
| New Hampshire Governor Lynch Signs Law Aimed at Increasing New Hampshire’s High School Graduation Rate| Date Captured | Wednesday June 27, 2007 08:54 AM | | AllAmericanPatriots.com reports, "New Hampshire Governor John Lynch today signed into law legislation raising the compulsory attendance age from 16 to 18, as part of an overall statewide effort to increase New Hampshire’s high school graduation rate. The legislation is one of Gov. Lynch’s top priorities."
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| Kids don't drop out all of the sudden| Date Captured | Sunday June 17, 2007 11:51 AM | | Roanoke Times opines, "Addison's reward system proves that dangling carrots does work by giving students an incentive to learn beyond the satisfaction of earning good grades.
But so too must schools, starting in the primary grades, use sticks to compel attendance. This means diligently tracking down absentees, talking with the parents, hounding them and, if necessary, taking enforcement action.
If Roanoke can get kids coming to school, it stands a better chance of keeping them in school."
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| Truants dent Texas wallet | Date Captured | Tuesday June 12, 2007 09:11 AM | | Galveston Daily News reports, "Truant students will cost Galveston public school district thousands of dollars in state money this year, a Region IV consultant told trustees last week.
School districts receive funding based on average daily attendance. Records show that Galveston Independent School District’s absenteeism rate was so high in 2006-07 that, on average, each student missed 9.9 days during the year, said Jim Vinson, who conducted an audit on the district’s public education information management system (PEIMS) reports." |
| Computers hacked at Hilton Head Island High| Date Captured | Friday June 01, 2007 07:03 PM | | The Island Packet reports, "It’s unclear how a hacker could have penetrated the computer network to get access to the students’ attendance records, both Ryan and Hudson said.
'We thought we had put in as many stop-gaps as we could,' Ryan said. She said the records are maintained on a 'statewide database — it’s not a local system they hacked into.'”
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| Institute for Student Achievement Receives $18,000 Investment From the Long Island Community Foundation | Date Captured | Wednesday May 30, 2007 10:09 AM | | This grant will support ISA's partnership
with Hempstead High School, where ISA is working to transform the school
into four small, personalized and academically small learning communities
that graduate students on time and college ready.
The conversion of Hempstead High School brings together three
institutions, ISA, Adelphi University and the Hempstead School District,
that share a vision for the development of Hempstead High School into a
school of academic excellence. This transformation represents a critical
"first" for Long Island, as it is the most ambitious conversion of a large,
comprehensive high school ever to be undertaken in the region. The
conversion of the school, which serves approximately 1,800 students, will
not be merely the downsizing of a large school. It will be a culture shift
-- from a community characterized by low expectations, impersonal
relationships and poor instruction -- to a school characterized by high
expectations, high student academic achievement and a personalized learning
environment that welcomes students and parents. This shift will result in
an increased student attendance rate, an increased course passing rate and
an increased graduation rate.
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| Board tables vote on expanding Indiana pilot attendance plan| Date Captured | Tuesday May 08, 2007 09:41 AM | | South Bend Tribune reports, "According to the proposed policy, students are allowed to accumulate nine absences per semester. A 10th absence puts a student in a no-credit status.
After a ninth absence, the student would be referred to a credit redemption program after school.
The student, the policy states, would have the opportunity to make up class work and class time to regain credit status. One hour of after-school work would make up for one hour of absence from a class.
While students wouldn't necessarily be making up the work, they would be making up the time. They would, however, be required to do homework or read during that time."
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| Officials to revisit truancy program| Date Captured | Wednesday May 02, 2007 08:46 AM | | Rochester Democrat and Chronicle reports, "Deputy Mayor Patty Malgieri said Tuesday that city and school officials will begin work next week to retool a truancy program that has struggled in its first year.
'Kids can't learn if they're not in their seats,' she said.
Truancy feeds the city's dropout and unemployment rates, officials say, which connect to crime, poverty and other issues."
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| Keeping Kids in the Classroom| Date Captured | Tuesday May 01, 2007 10:52 AM | | Washington Post reports, "The problem of truancy has drawn widespread attention this year, prompting some area lawmakers to call for tough measures to keep track of the most habitual offenders and leading school officials to crack down on those who constantly skip class.
In its recently concluded session, the Maryland General Assembly passed a measure that would make it possible to deny driver's licenses to students who have too many unexcused absences. Gov. Martin O'Malley (D) is expected to sign it. During the same session, some lawmakers in Prince George's proposed strapping ankle bracelets on students to electronically monitor the whereabouts of those who constantly skip school. That bill did not advance. But the county's police announced April 11 that they had caught 425 truants in a crackdown that began in February."
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| North Carolina local county students with good attendance could skip exam | Date Captured | Wednesday April 04, 2007 03:45 PM | | Lexington (North Carolina) Dispatch reports, "The policy would allow students to exempt one final exam per semester if they have good class attendance. However, the exemption could not be applied to any course for which there is a required state end-of-course examination, VoCATS examination or transfer or college course examination. VoCATS are state assessments used for career and technical education classes."
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| MIKE'S MILLIONS TO BE 'REWARD' $$ FOR POOR| Date Captured | Friday March 30, 2007 08:06 AM | | NY Post reports, "Regular attendance at elementary school would be worth $25 every two months. At the high-school level, the payoff doubles to $50.
Students who get high grades on major exams could earn $200 to $300 a pop for their struggling households. Similar payoffs would be available for 20 to 25 other activities deemed beneficial to society and the family."
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| Absent students miss out on invaluable classroom learning experiences| Date Captured | Thursday March 29, 2007 08:00 AM | | Norwich Bulletin contributor Elizabeth Osga, superintendent of schools in Griswold writes, "Aside from illness and valid emergencies, there are few defensible reasons for school absence. A strong family expectation for attendance sends a message learning is important. It also creates the foundation for lifelong work ethic. But, not to be lost in the discussion of school attendance is the value of each and every lesson. Because of such lessons, writers can end columns with sentences that begin with subordinate clauses."
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| Wappingers firms policy on absences | Date Captured | Tuesday March 20, 2007 10:39 AM | |
| Maryland Moves To Tie Teens' Truancy to Licenses| Date Captured | Friday March 16, 2007 08:57 AM | | Washington Post reports, "Maryland lawmakers issued a tough warning to teenagers yesterday: no school, no car keys.
The House of Delegates approved a bill that would deny driver's licenses to students with 10 or more unexcused absences in the previous calendar year. A similar measure passed the Senate Judiciary Committee late yesterday, and it appears to have wide support in the full chamber."
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| California parents pay for pulling kids | Date Captured | Friday March 09, 2007 08:33 AM | | AP reports, "Frustrated by children missing class for long weekend ski trips and jaunts to Disneyland, the local school district is trying a novel approach to persuade parents to keep them in school.
It's sending them bills – $36.13 per day."
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| NYC SchoolsNew York City Schools Attendance Memo re: Law and Policy| Date Captured | Wednesday March 07, 2007 01:21 PM | | The New York City Department of Education is committed to the academic success and social development of all students. Our objective for the 2006 – 2007 school year is to ensure that all students are provided with the necessary intervention and supports that encourage regular school attendance. Regular attendance is critical to successful achievement in school. Conversely, poor attendance is one of the most significant indicators of potential risk. It is our goal to ensure that students are provided with every available resource to support and facilitate their successful completion of school. To this end, the accurate tracking of student attendance is fundamental to the implementation of effective educational services. The Department of Education has established a clearly defined system for recording, tracking and monitoring school attendance. This system is supported and implemented by a series of attendance guidelines and procedures set forth in Chancellor’s Regulations, State Education Laws, and descriptive memoranda distributed to school staff. This Memorandum provides information about attendance law and policy, attendance procedures for this school year, the implementation of attendance services, clearance of register procedures, revised procedures for addressing student absences, requirements for reporting educational neglect and child abuse, and discharge and transfer procedures including the process for conducting and tracking planning interviews on the ATS system. Additionally information about, “ILOG” the new student intervention screen on ATS, will be provided. |
| New York City Department of Education Attendance Services| Date Captured | Monday March 05, 2007 09:17 PM | |
The Office of Attendance is responsible for the oversight of attendance policies, procedures and programs for New York City public school students. This includes the development and implementation of attendance guidelines and procedures, provision of on-going technical assistance and support and collaboration with outside agencies and organizations on attendance-related issues. The office also serves as a resource to the community and the public-at-large. In addition, the office is responsible for: Employment Certification; Attendance Improvement and Dropout Prevention (AIDP) Programs; Truancy Prevention Programs (TRACK, PACT); and home schooling.
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| NYS Education Department | Section 104.1(i) of Commissioner’s Regulations| Date Captured | Monday May 14, 2007 09:18 PM | | EXCERPT:
(vi) a description of the incentives to be employed to encourage pupil attendance and any disciplinary sanctions to be used to discourage unexcused pupil absences, tardiness and early departures;
(vii) a description of the notice to be provided to the parent(s) of or person(s) in parental relation to pupils who are absent, tardy or depart early without proper excuse.
(viii) a description of the process to develop specific intervention strategies to be employed by teachers and other school employees to address identified patterns of unexcused pupil absence, tardiness or early departure;
(ix) identification of the person(s) designated in each school building who will be responsible for reviewing pupil attendance records and initiating appropriate action to address unexcused pupil absence, tardiness and early departure consistent with the comprehensive attendance policy.
(3) The board of education, board of cooperative educational services, charter school board, county vocational education and extension board and governing body of a nonpublic school shall annually review the building level pupil attendance records and if such records show a decline in pupil attendance the board or governing body shall revise the comprehensive pupil attendance policy and make any revisions to the plan deemed necessary to improve pupil attendance.
(4) Each board of education, board of cooperative educational services, charter school board, county vocational education and extension board, and nonpublic school shall promote necessary community awareness of its comprehensive attendance policy by:
(i) providing a plain language summary of the policy to the parents or persons in parental relation to students at the beginning of each school year and taking such other steps deemed necessary to promote the understanding of such policy by students and their parents or persons in parental relation;
(ii) providing each teacher with a copy of the policy and any amendments thereto as soon as practicable following initial adoption or amendment of the policy, and providing new teachers with a copy of the policy upon their employment; and
(iii) making copies of the policy available to any other member of the community upon request.
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| Section 3211 - Title IV, Article 65, Part I -- Records of attendance upon instruction| Date Captured | Monday May 14, 2007 09:00 PM | | Sec. 3211. Records of attendance upon instruction.
1. Who shall keep such record. The teacher of every minor required by the provisions of part one of this article to attend upon instruction, or any other school district employee as may be designated by the commissioner of education under section three thousand twenty-four of this chapter, shall keep an accurate record of the attendance and absence of such minor. Such record shall be in such form as may be prescribed by the commissioner of education.
2. Certificates of attendance to be presumptive evidence. A duly certified transcript of the record of attendance and absence of a child which has been kept, as provided in this section, shall be accepted as presumptive evidence of the attendance of such child in any proceeding brought under the provisions of part one of this article.
3. Inspection of records of attendance. An attendance officer, or any other duly authorized representative of the school authorities, may at any time during school hours, demand the production of the records of attendance of minors required to be kept by the provisions of part one of this article, and may inspect or copy the same and make all proper inquiries of a teacher or principal concerning the records and the attendance of such minors.
4. Duties of principal or person in charge of the instruction of a minor. The principal of a school, or other person in charge of the instruction upon which a minor attends, as provided by part one of this article, shall cause the record of his attendance to be kept and produced and all appropriate inquiries in relation thereto answered as hereinbefore required. He shall give prompt notification in writing to the school authorities of the city or district of the discharge or transfer of any such minor from attendance upon instruction, stating the date of the discharge, its cause, the name of the minor, his date of birth, his place of residence prior to and following discharge, if such place of residence be known, and the name of the person in parental relation to the minor.
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| 104.l Pupil attendance recordkeeping| Date Captured | Monday May 14, 2007 10:43 AM | | EXCERPT (FULL TEXT AT LINK) (ix) identification of the person(s) designated in each school building who will be responsible for reviewing pupil attendance records and initiating appropriate action to address unexcused pupil absence, tardiness and early departure consistent with the comprehensive attendance policy.
(3) The board of education, board of cooperative educational services, charter school board, county vocational education and extension board and governing body of a nonpublic school shall annually review the building level pupil attendance records and if such records show a decline in pupil attendance the board or governing body shall revise the comprehensive pupil attendance policy and make any revisions to the plan deemed necessary to improve pupil attendance.
(4) Each board of education, board of cooperative educational services, charter school board, county vocational education and extension board, and nonpublic school shall promote necessary community awareness of its comprehensive attendance policy by:
(i) providing a plain language summary of the policy to the parents or persons in parental relation to students at the beginning of each school year and taking such other steps deemed necessary to promote the understanding of such policy by students and their parents or persons in parental relation;
(ii) providing each teacher with a copy of the policy and any amendments thereto as soon as practicable following initial adoption or amendment of the policy, and providing new teachers with a copy of the policy upon their employment; and
(iii) making copies of the policy available to any other member of the community upon request.
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| Sec. 3212-a. Records of telephone numbers| Date Captured | Monday May 14, 2007 10:26 AM | | 1. Each school shall maintain a record of the telephone number of each pupil enrolled in the school and each person in parental relation to such pupil including the residential and business telephone numbers of persons in parental relation to pupils unless such person or pupil chooses not to supply such numbers. The record of such telephone numbers shall, except as otherwise provided by law, be accessible solely for emergency purposes.
2. The provisions of this section shall not be applicable in any school district in which the board of education has adopted a resolution providing that the record otherwise required hereby shall not be maintained.
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| | ATTENDANCE INCENTIVES| Date Captured | Monday May 14, 2007 10:16 AM | | Attendance policy and programming, coupled with school climate and increased academic performance, offers a unique opportunity to engage the entire school community – parents, staff, students, and community members – in a process that will build upon the strengths of all concerned. Maintenance of high attendance rates depends upon incentives that range from climate/culture to district-wide and building programs to recognition for accomplishments to individual sanctions (disincentives). Each category has distinct functions. Although districts will differ in the incentives employed depending upon the philosophies and needs of family and community, programs are quite likely to span the entire spectrum. The specific strategies developed and implemented by a district will reflect the diversity and creativity that exists within schools and their communities. |
| P-16 Education: A Plan for Action| Date Captured | Wednesday April 04, 2007 09:10 AM | | Improve high school attendance and graduation rates by setting performance targets, promoting promising practices that remove barriers to graduation, and holding schools accountable for dramatic improvements.
Problem: Since higher standards were adopted in 1996, the number of high school graduates each year has increased. However, only 64% of students who entered 9th grade in 2001 graduated in four years; 18% were still enrolled and 11% had dropped out. Rates for Black and Hispanic students were below 45%. Data show that graduation rates are closely tied to attendance rates. As attendance declines below 95%, graduation rates decline significantly. And both attendance and graduation rates decline with poverty. New York’s current graduation rate standard is only 55%, one of the lowest in the nation. Schools need to focus on the least served students, such as Black males, English Language Learners, and students with disabilities.
Actions:
¦ Set a State graduation rate standard, publish four- and five-year graduation rates by school, and specify a schedule of improvement targets for schools to close the gap between their graduation rate and State standard. Set targets now for the students who entered 9th grade in 2004 and will graduate in 2008. This action is especially important to ensure that more schools intervene to help the most underserved students, such as Black males, English Language Learners, and students with disabilities
Research and benchmark other states for effective, innovative strategies that improve high school graduation and attendance rates. Include strategies that begin in middle school and focus on the transition from middle to high school. Emphasize a meaningful curriculum that includes the arts, music, physical education and career and technical programs. Provide effective strategies to schools to enable them to achieve the State targets through regional networks |
| Length of School Day| Date Captured | Saturday March 24, 2007 03:00 PM | | Length of School Day: The minimum length of school day for purposes of generating State Aid is 2.5 hours for half-day kindergarten, 5.0 hours for full-day kindergarten through grade 6 and 5.5 hours for grades 7-12. These hours are exclusive of the time allowed for lunch. If school district officials establish a school calendar in excess of 180 required days, the excess days need not comply with the mandated daily time requirements. (Commissioner's Regulations 175.5)
Students of compulsory attendance age must be scheduled for attendance upon instruction for the entire time the school is in session. The term session refers to the period during which instruction is provided. However, such daily sessions may include supervised study periods, supervised cooperative work study, release time for college study or school-to-work programs, and as well as traditional classroom instructional activities. (Education Law 3210(1))
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| School Year, Extraordinary Condition Days, Examination Days, Superintendent's Conference Days, Length of School Day and Student Attendance | Date Captured | Saturday March 24, 2007 02:48 PM | | Days of Session: School districts must be in session for all students, including students with disabilities, for not less than 180 days. Included in the 180 days are days on which attendance is taken, days on which Regents examinations, State Assessments or local examinations are given and days on which superintendent's conference days are held.
School district officials may not claim partial or full attendance on days when classes are not in actual session. This situation is most likely to occur on Regents examination days or superintendent's conference days. Such days do count toward the 180 required days, but, since they are not days of actual session, they do not affect and are not factored into average daily attendance. (Education Law 3604(7)). |
| Parent InvolvementSection 104.1(i) of Commissioner’s Regulations| Date Captured | Monday May 14, 2007 09:18 PM | | EXCERPT:
(vi) a description of the incentives to be employed to encourage pupil attendance and any disciplinary sanctions to be used to discourage unexcused pupil absences, tardiness and early departures;
(vii) a description of the notice to be provided to the parent(s) of or person(s) in parental relation to pupils who are absent, tardy or depart early without proper excuse.
(viii) a description of the process to develop specific intervention strategies to be employed by teachers and other school employees to address identified patterns of unexcused pupil absence, tardiness or early departure;
(ix) identification of the person(s) designated in each school building who will be responsible for reviewing pupil attendance records and initiating appropriate action to address unexcused pupil absence, tardiness and early departure consistent with the comprehensive attendance policy.
(3) The board of education, board of cooperative educational services, charter school board, county vocational education and extension board and governing body of a nonpublic school shall annually review the building level pupil attendance records and if such records show a decline in pupil attendance the board or governing body shall revise the comprehensive pupil attendance policy and make any revisions to the plan deemed necessary to improve pupil attendance.
(4) Each board of education, board of cooperative educational services, charter school board, county vocational education and extension board, and nonpublic school shall promote necessary community awareness of its comprehensive attendance policy by:
(i) providing a plain language summary of the policy to the parents or persons in parental relation to students at the beginning of each school year and taking such other steps deemed necessary to promote the understanding of such policy by students and their parents or persons in parental relation;
(ii) providing each teacher with a copy of the policy and any amendments thereto as soon as practicable following initial adoption or amendment of the policy, and providing new teachers with a copy of the policy upon their employment; and
(iii) making copies of the policy available to any other member of the community upon request.
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| PolicyNYSSBA Sample Attendance Policy| Date Captured | Tuesday May 15, 2007 12:45 AM | |
| Yonkers Code of Conduct| Date Captured | Friday May 11, 2007 09:50 AM | | Attendance policy begins on page 31 of document. |
| Should teen mothers be held to truancy standards? | Date Captured | Saturday April 14, 2007 08:49 PM | | A Shrewdness of Apes blog: "Well, here's an interesting dilemma:
Well, here's an interesting dilemma:
A 16-year-old student who claims in a lawsuit that her school district discriminated against her because she is a teen mother has missed 211 days of school over the last four years, according to officials in the Harrisburg area school district.
A 16-year-old student who claims in a lawsuit that her school district discriminated against her because she is a teen mother has missed 211 days of school over the last four years, according to officials in the Harrisburg area school district."
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| PrivacyPrivacy issues curb teen-driver rules| Date Captured | Wednesday August 29, 2007 08:24 PM | | Chicago Tribune reports, "The law would have required school districts to submit information to the State Board of Education, detailing whether a student had been expelled, truant or who had dropped out of school. That information would then have been passed to Secretary of State Jesse White's office, which would have flagged the affected students and barred them from driving privileges.
State education officials said they decided to delay enforcing the law after the U.S. Department of Education notified them that it violated the Federal Education Rights and Privacy Act, said Matthew Vanover, a spokesman for the state board. 'They told us it would be a violation ... for that information to be shared with the secretary of state's office,' he added."
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| Protecting the Privacy of Student Records| Date Captured | Sunday May 13, 2007 11:24 AM | | Guidelines for Education Agencies -- NCES and National Forum on Education Statistics (1997) |
| ResearchWho Cares About Truancy in Seattle Public High Schools?| Date Captured | Wednesday April 11, 2007 08:15 PM | | Truancy is not exactly a new problem, and the literature abounds with approaches to increasing school attendance. |
| Resource LinksThe Chapter 655 Report| Date Captured | Monday May 14, 2007 10:31 PM | | Report to the Governor and the Legislature on the Educational Status of the State's Schools
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| Attendance -- What States Are Doing | Date Captured | Sunday May 13, 2007 09:24 AM | | Education Commission of the States |
| School FundingSTATE FORMULA AIDS AND ENTITLEMENTS FOR SCHOOLS IN NEW YORK STATE (AS AMENDED BY CHAPTERS OF THE LAWS OF 2006)| Date Captured | Saturday May 12, 2007 03:40 PM | | The University of the State of New York -- THE STATE EDUCATION DEPARTMENT -- State Aid Unit --
October, 2006. Some definitions -- A. Total Aidable Pupil Units (TAPU): The total aidable pupil unit is the sum of several pupil counts, each count being assigned a distinct weighting. Weightings are used as a means of reflecting the assumed average cost of educating a particular pupil category. These categories and weightings are further explained by the following:
1. Full Day K-12 Adjusted Average Daily Attendance (Adjusted ADA) (Weighting = 1.00): The Adjusted ADA includes the average number of pupils present on each regular school day, the full-time-equivalent enrollment of resident pupils attending a charter school, the enrollment of pupils with disabilities in full time BOCES programs, and the equivalent attendance of students under the age of 21 not on a regular day school register in programs leading to a high school diploma or high school equivalency diploma. This average is determined by dividing the total number of attendance days of all pupils by the number of days school was in session and attendance was recorded.
2. 1/2-Day K Adjusted Average Daily Attendance (Weighting = 0.50): A 0.50 weighting adjustment to the average daily attendance for half-day kindergarten attendance.
3. Pupils in Dual Enrollment with a Nonpublic School (Weighting = 1.00 * Fraction of Day in Public School Programs): The attendance of nonpublic school pupils in career education, gifted and talented, or special education programs of the public school district as authorized by Section 3602-c of the Education Law. Attendance is weighted by the fraction of the school day that the student is enrolled in the public school programs.
4. Pupils with Special Educational Needs (PSEN)(Additional Weighting = 0.25): The number of pupils with special educational needs attending the public schools of the district is determined by the percentage of pupils below minimum competence as measured by the third and sixth grade pupil evaluation program (PEP) tests in reading and mathematics. The average of the percentage of pupils in a district who scored below the State reference point on these third and sixth grade PEP Tests in 1984 85 and 1985 86 continues to be used to determine the number of pupils with special educational needs. This percentage is multiplied by the district's adjusted ADA to produce the number of pupils for weighting. The PSEN pupil count is equal to the number of eligible pupils multiplied by the 0.25 additional weighting. Since this is an additional weighting, these pupils also would have been counted under average daily attendance.
5. Secondary School Pupils (Additional Weighting = 0.25): Eligible pupils in grades seven through twelve receive an additional weighting of 0.25. Eligible pupils for this weighting are defined as the number of students in average daily attendance in grades seven through twelve excluding any such students whose enrollment generates Public Excess Cost Aid. The eligible pupils are multiplied by 0.25 to produce the additional secondary school weighting.
6. Summer Session Pupils (Weighting = 0.12): Summer session pupils are those pupils who attend Approved programs of instruction operated by the district during the months of July and August, other than pupils with disabilities in twelve month programs. The full weighting of 0.12 is applicable if the student attends a total of 90 hours of class sessions during the summer.
B. Adjustment in Computing Total Aidable Pupil Units Based on Enrollment Growth: For TAPU aids payable during 2006-07, attendance in the year prior to the base year is multiplied by the ratio of base year enrollment to year prior to the base year enrollment. Base year is the school year prior to the current year. (Example: For the 2006-07 aid year, 2005-06 is the base year and 2004-05 is the year prior to the base year.)
C. Selected TAPU: For the purposes of computing Formula Operating Aid, districts may use the total aidable pupil units as described above or the average of such number and the total aidable pupil units calculated for aid payable in the base year. The higher of these two figures is usually referred to as Selected TAPU.
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| School ReformP-16 Education: A Plan for Action| Date Captured | Wednesday April 04, 2007 09:10 AM | | Improve high school attendance and graduation rates by setting performance targets, promoting promising practices that remove barriers to graduation, and holding schools accountable for dramatic improvements.
Problem: Since higher standards were adopted in 1996, the number of high school graduates each year has increased. However, only 64% of students who entered 9th grade in 2001 graduated in four years; 18% were still enrolled and 11% had dropped out. Rates for Black and Hispanic students were below 45%. Data show that graduation rates are closely tied to attendance rates. As attendance declines below 95%, graduation rates decline significantly. And both attendance and graduation rates decline with poverty. New York’s current graduation rate standard is only 55%, one of the lowest in the nation. Schools need to focus on the least served students, such as Black males, English Language Learners, and students with disabilities.
Actions:
¦ Set a State graduation rate standard, publish four- and five-year graduation rates by school, and specify a schedule of improvement targets for schools to close the gap between their graduation rate and State standard. Set targets now for the students who entered 9th grade in 2004 and will graduate in 2008. This action is especially important to ensure that more schools intervene to help the most underserved students, such as Black males, English Language Learners, and students with disabilities
Research and benchmark other states for effective, innovative strategies that improve high school graduation and attendance rates. Include strategies that begin in middle school and focus on the transition from middle to high school. Emphasize a meaningful curriculum that includes the arts, music, physical education and career and technical programs. Provide effective strategies to schools to enable them to achieve the State targets through regional networks |
| Social and Human CapitalSection 104.1(i) of Commissioner’s Regulations| Date Captured | Monday May 14, 2007 09:18 PM | | EXCERPT:
(vi) a description of the incentives to be employed to encourage pupil attendance and any disciplinary sanctions to be used to discourage unexcused pupil absences, tardiness and early departures;
(vii) a description of the notice to be provided to the parent(s) of or person(s) in parental relation to pupils who are absent, tardy or depart early without proper excuse.
(viii) a description of the process to develop specific intervention strategies to be employed by teachers and other school employees to address identified patterns of unexcused pupil absence, tardiness or early departure;
(ix) identification of the person(s) designated in each school building who will be responsible for reviewing pupil attendance records and initiating appropriate action to address unexcused pupil absence, tardiness and early departure consistent with the comprehensive attendance policy.
(3) The board of education, board of cooperative educational services, charter school board, county vocational education and extension board and governing body of a nonpublic school shall annually review the building level pupil attendance records and if such records show a decline in pupil attendance the board or governing body shall revise the comprehensive pupil attendance policy and make any revisions to the plan deemed necessary to improve pupil attendance.
(4) Each board of education, board of cooperative educational services, charter school board, county vocational education and extension board, and nonpublic school shall promote necessary community awareness of its comprehensive attendance policy by:
(i) providing a plain language summary of the policy to the parents or persons in parental relation to students at the beginning of each school year and taking such other steps deemed necessary to promote the understanding of such policy by students and their parents or persons in parental relation;
(ii) providing each teacher with a copy of the policy and any amendments thereto as soon as practicable following initial adoption or amendment of the policy, and providing new teachers with a copy of the policy upon their employment; and
(iii) making copies of the policy available to any other member of the community upon request.
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| Teaching as a Profession | TruancyTruancy could result in tickets| Date Captured | Saturday August 18, 2007 07:59 PM | | Farmington Press reports, "The absence policy is on a semester basis. After three absences, a letter is sent to the parents about the school attendance policy. This letter is sent out automatically to those students who have missed that number of days, even if they have a doctor’s excuse.
'There is a contact number to call on the letter. Many times, parents who have received this first letter will call and say they have sent doctor’s excuses,' said Swinarski. 'They should not worry — if they’ve called, then that means they’re doing what they should do.'
She explained this also gives parents an opportunity to perhaps let the district know about a certain health issue a child may have that can keep them from attending school.
'We can help them in whatever way they may need (after reviewing the case),' she said.
A letter is also sent when a student has six absences in a semester. At seven absences, more steps are put into place.
'When a student reaches that seventh day, a letter is sent to the parents saying that anymore absences over that number would not allow the student to make up the work. We send out a date and time for a meeting that we would like to discuss this with them,' said Burch." |
| | Habitual Truancy: Examples of State Definitions | Date Captured | Sunday May 13, 2007 09:01 AM | | For the most part, compulsory attendance laws do not specify the number of times a student must be truant before sanctions (also part of the compulsory attendance laws) are enforced. This ECS StateNote provides examples of states where truancy and habitual truancy are defined at the state level. (Kyle Zinth, Education Commission of the States, April 2005) |
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