STUDENTS: ATTENDANCE [LAW]
1. Compulsory Attendance
A. A child who
is at least six (6) years of age, or who is younger than six (6) years of age
and has previously been enrolled in 1st grade, and who has not yet reached
his/her 18th birthday, shall attend school.
B. On
enrollment in pre-kindergarten or kindergarten, a child shall attend school.
C. A
person who voluntarily enrolls in school or voluntarily attends school after
the person’s 18th birthday shall attend school each school day for the entire
period the program of instruction is offered or the school may revoke his/her
enrollment after five (5) unexcused absences.
Tex. Educ. Code §§ 12.104(b)(1), 25.085(b)(c), (e).
2. Warning Notice to Parents
The school shall notify a student’s parents in writing
at the beginning of the school year that if the student is absent from school
on 10 or more days or parts of days within a six-month period in the same
school year, or on three (3) or more days or parts of days within a four-week
period, the student’s parents and the student are subject to prosecution.
3. Parent Liability
A. If
a parent or person standing in parental relation, with criminal negligence
fails to require the child to attend school as required by law, and the child
has absences for 10 or more days or parts of days within a six-month period in
the same school-year or on three (3) or more days or parts of days within
a four-week period, the attendance officer shall file a complaint against him/her
in an appropriate court, as permitted under Tex. Educ. Code § 25.093(b).
B. One-half
of any fine collected shall be deposited into the school the child
attends. At the trial of any person
charged with a violation, any authorized employee of the school may present the
attendance records of the child in court.
Tex. Educ. Code §§ 12.104(b)(1), 25.093(e), (f).
4. Student
Liability
A student who is required to attend and
fails to attend school on 10 or more days or parts of days within a six-month
period in the same school year or on three (3) or more days or parts of days
within a four-week period may be prosecuted for truancy in:
A. The
justice court of any precinct in the county in which the student resides;
B. The
justice court of any precinct in the county in which the school is located;
C. The
municipal court in the municipality in which the child resides; or
D. The
municipal court in the municipality in which the school is located.
5. Excused Absences
A. A
student shall be excused for temporary absence resulting from any cause
acceptable to the student’s teacher(s), principal, or School Director.
B. A student shall
be excused from attending school for the purpose of attending religious holy
days, including traveling for that purpose.
6. Attendance Officer
A. The
school board may select a school attendance officer who may be compensated from
the school’s funds.
B. If
an attendance officer is not selected, the duties of the attendance officer
shall be performed by the peace officers of the county in which the school is
located. Additional compensation may not
be paid for those services.
7. Powers
and Duties of Peace Officers and Other Attendance Officers
A. Definitions –
(1) “Parent” includes a person standing in
parental relation.
(2) “Peace
officer” has the meaning assigned by Article 2.12, Tex. Crim. Proc. Code.
B. A
peace officer serving as an attendance officer has the following powers and
duties concerning enforcement of compulsory school attendance requirements:
(1) To
investigate each case of a violation of compulsory school attendance
requirements referred to the peace officer;
(2) To enforce compulsory school attendance
requirements by:
(a) Referring
a student to a juvenile court or filing a complaint against the student in a
justice or municipal court if the student has unexcused absences for the amount
of time specified under § 25.094, or under § 51.03(b)(2), Tex. Fam. Code.
(b) Filing
a complaint in a justice or municipal court against parents who violate Tex.
Educ. Code § 25.093.
(3) To serve court-ordered legal process;
(4) To
review school attendance records for compliance by each student investigated by
the officer;
(5) To
maintain an investigative record on each compulsory school attendance
requirement violation and related court action and, at the request of a court,
the board of the school, or the commissioner of education, to provide a record
to the individual or entity requesting the record;
(6) To
make a home visit or otherwise contact the parent of a student who is in
violation of compulsory school attendance requirements, except that a peace
officer may not enter a residence without the permission of the parents of the
student (required under this policy to attend school), or of the tenant or
owner of the residence, except to lawfully serve court-ordered legal process on
the parents; and
(7) To take the student into custody with
the permission of the student’s parents, or in obedience to a court-ordered
legal process.
C. An
attendance officer employed by the school who is not commissioned as a peace
officer has the following powers and duties with respect to enforcement of
compulsory school attendance requirements:
(1) To
investigate each case of a violation of the compulsory school attendance
requirements referred to the attendance officer;
(2) To
enforce compulsory school attendance requirements by:
(a) Referring
the student to a juvenile court or filing a complaint against the student in a
justice or municipal court if the student has unexcused absences for the amount
of time specified under § 25.094, or under § 51.03(b)(2), Tex. Fam. Code ; and
(b) Filing
a complaint in a justice or municipal court against the parents who violate
Tex. Educ. Code § 25.093;
(3) To
monitor school attendance compliance by each student investigated by the
officer;
(4) To
maintain an investigative record on each compulsory school attendance
requirement violation and related court action and, at the request of a court,
the board of the school, or the commissioner, to provide a record to the
individual or entity requesting the record;
(5) To
make a home visit or otherwise contact the parents of the student in violation
of compulsory school attendance requirements, except that the attendance
officer may not enter the residence without permission of the parents or of the
owner or tenant of the residence;
(6) At
the request of the student’s parents, to escort the student from any location
to the school campus to ensure the student’s compliance with compulsory school
attendance requirements; and
(7) If
the attendance officer has, or is informed of a court-ordered legal process
directing that the student be taken into custody, and the school employing the
officer does not employ its own police department, to contact the sheriff,
constable, or any peace officer to request that the student be taken into
custody and processed according to the legal process.
8. Attendance Accounting
A. The
charter holder shall comply with the Texas Education Agency (TEA) Student
Attendance Accounting Handbook [See 19
Tex. Admin. Code § 129.1025] and with state laws and rules regarding attendance
accounting.
19
B. TEA Attendance
Accounting Rule:
(1) All
public schools in
(2) The
School Director, principal(s), and teachers shall be responsible to their
school boards and to the state to maintain accurate, current attendance
records;
(3) The
school shall maintain records and make reports concerning student attendance
and participation in special programs as required by the commissioner;
(4) Effective January 1, 2001,
before the school may count a student in attendance when the student was
allowed to leave campus during any part of the school day, the school shall
adopt a policy addressing parental consent for a student to leave campus and
distribute the policy to staff and to all parents of students in the school;
(5) If
the school chooses to use a locally developed record or automated system, it
must contain the minimum information required by the commissioner;
(6) When
classroom instruction is organized on a departmentalized basis, a central
attendance accounting system must be used;
(7) Excused
days for travel for the purpose of observing religious holy days shall be
limited to not more than one (1) day for travel to and one (1) day for travel
from the site where the student will observe the holy days;
(8) If
a student has a documented appointment with a health care professional during
regular school hours, the appointment must be supported by a document such as a
note from the health care professional;
(9) In
accordance with Tex. Educ. Code § 25.087, a student may be excused for medical,
dental, and psychological appointments; for special education assessment
procedures; and for special education related services;
(10) The
School Director is responsible for the safekeeping of all attendance records
and reports. The School Director may
determine whether the properly certified attendance records or reports for the
school year are to be filed in the central office or properly stored on school
campuses. Regardless of where such
records are filed or stored, they must be readily available for audit by the TEA
Division of Audits;
(11) A
student must be enrolled for at least two (2) hours to be considered in
membership for half-day, and for at least four (4) hours to be considered in
membership for one full day;
(12) Attendance
for all grades shall be determined by the absences recorded in the second or
fifth period of the day, unless permission has been obtained from TEA for an
alternate period to record absences;
(13)
Students enrolled on a half-day basis may earn only half-day of attendance each
school day. Attendance is determined for
these pupils by recording absences in a period during the half-day that they
are scheduled to be present;
(14) The
established period in which absences are recorded may not be changed during the
school year;
(15) A
student who is absent at the time the attendance roll is taken during the daily
period selected, will be counted absent for the entire day. Students present at the time the attendance
roll is taken during the daily period selected, are counted present for the
entire day;
(16) A
student who is not actually in school at the time attendance is taken shall not
be counted in attendance for Foundation School Program funding purposes unless
the student is participating in an activity which meets the conditions set out
in this policy;
(17) A
student not actually on campus at the time attendance is taken may be
considered in attendance for Foundation School Program purposes under the
following conditions:
(a) The student
is participating in an activity which is approved by the school’s board of
trustees and is under the direction of a member of the professional staff of
the charter school, or an adjunct staff member who:
(i) Has a
minimum of a bachelor’s degree; and
(ii) Is
eligible for participation in the Teacher Retirement System of Texas.
(b) The
student is participating in a mentorship approved by school personnel to serve
as one or more of the advanced measures needed to complete the Distinguished
Achievement Program;
(c) The student
is a Medicaid-eligible child participating in the Early and Periodic Screening,
Diagnosis, and Treatment Program (EPSDT) implemented by the Texas Department of
Human Services with contractual cooperation of the Texas Department of Health. Such students may be excused for up to one (1)
day at any time without loss of
19
C. Exceptions
(1) The
school is not required to comply with TEA rules regarding attendance of
court-related students.
19
(2) The
school shall report its actual student attendance data to TEA at six-week
intervals, or as directed by TEA.
19