KRS § 159.035 — KY Code / Title XIII / Chapter 159 / Section 159.035
159.035 Participation in 4-H activities, page programs of the General Assembly, and ten days of military basic training to be considered attendance -- Excused absence for educational enhancement or attendance at Kentucky State Fair -- Appeal of denial of excused absence -- Exception for testing periods -- Excused absences for deployment and return days of parent or guardian on active duty -- Excused absence to visit parent or guardian on R and R -- Excused absence due to mental or behavioral health status
Status: in_force

159.035 Participation in 4-H activities, page programs of the General Assembly,

and ten days of military basic training to be considered attendance -- Excused

absence for educational enhancement or attendance at Kentucky State Fair --

Appeal of denial of excused absence -- Exception for testing periods -- Excused

absences for deployment and return days of parent or guardian on active duty

-- Excused absence to visit parent or guardian on R and R -- Excused absence

due to mental or behavioral health status.

(1) Notwithstanding the provisions of any other statute, any student in a public school

who is enrolled in a properly organized 4-H club shall be considered present at

school for all purposes when participating in regularly scheduled 4-H club

educational activities, provided, the student is accompanied by or under the

supervision of a county extension agent or the designated 4-H club leader for the 4-

H club educational activity participated in.

(2) Notwithstanding the provisions of any other statute, any student in a public school

shall be considered present for all purposes for up to ten (10) days while attending

basic training required by a branch of the United States Armed Forces.

(3) Beginning with the 2021-2022 school year, notwithstanding the provisions of any

other statute, any student enrolled in a public school shall not have his or her perfect

attendance record negatively affected by participating in any of the page programs

of the General Assembly.

(4) Students applying for excused absence for attendance at the Kentucky State Fair

shall by granted one (1) day of excused absence.

(5) Except as provided in paragraph (e) of this subsection, a public school principal

shall give a student an excused absence of up to ten (10) school days to pursue an

educational enhancement opportunity determined by the principal to be of

significant educational value, including but not limited to participation in an

educational foreign exchange program or an intensive instructional, experiential, or

performance program in one (1) of the core curriculum subjects of English, science,

mathematics, social studies, foreign language, and the arts.

(a) A student receiving an excused absence under this subsection shall have the

opportunity to make up school work missed and shall not have his or her class

grades adversely affected for lack of class attendance or class participation due

to the excused absence.

(b) Educational enhancement opportunities under this subsection shall not include

nonacademic extracurricular activities, but may include programs not

sponsored by the school district.

(c) If a request for an excused absence to pursue an educational enhancement

opportunity is denied by a school principal, a student may appeal the decision

to the district superintendent, who shall make a determination whether to

uphold or alter the decision of the principal. If a superintendent upholds a

principal's denial, a student may appeal the decision to the local board of

education, which shall make a final determination. A principal,

superintendent, and local board of education shall make their determinations

based on the provisions of this subsection and the district's school attendance

policies adopted in accordance with KRS 158.070 and KRS 159.150.

(d) A student receiving an excused absence under the provisions of this

subsection shall be considered present in school during the excused absence

for the purposes of calculating average daily attendance as defined by KRS

157.320 under the Support Education Excellence in Kentucky program.

(e) A student shall not be eligible to receive an excused absence under the

provisions of this subsection for an absence during a school's testing window

established for assessments of the state assessment developed under KRS

158.6453 or during a testing period established for the administration of

additional district-wide assessments at the school, except if a principal

determines that extenuating circumstances make an excused absence to pursue

an educational enhancement opportunity appropriate.

(6) (a) If a student's parent, de facto custodian, or other person with legal custody or

control of the student is a member of the United States Armed Forces,

including a member of a state National Guard or a Reserve component called

to federal active duty, a public school principal shall give the student:

1. An excused absence for one (1) day when the member is deployed;

2. An additional excused absence for one (1) day when the service member

returns from deployment; and

3. Excused absences for up to ten (10) days for visitation when the member

is stationed out of the country and is granted rest and recuperation leave.

(b) A student receiving an excused absence under this subsection shall have the

opportunity to make up school work missed and shall not have his or her class

grades adversely affected for lack of class attendance or class participation due

to the excused absence.

(c) A student receiving an excused absence under this subsection shall be

considered present in school during the excused absence for the purposes of

calculating average daily attendance as defined by KRS 157.320 under the

Support Education Excellence in Kentucky program.

(7) A local school board may include provisions in its student attendance policy for

excused absences due to a student's mental or behavioral health status.