Virginia Administrative Code › Title 8 - EDUCATION › Agency 20 - STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION › Chapter 730 - REGULATIONS GOVERNING THE COLLECTION AND REPORTING OF TRUANCY-RELATED DATA AND STUDENT ATTENDANCE POLICIES › Section 8VAC20-730-20 - Unexcused absences intervention process and responsibilities

Current through Register Vol. 40, No. 24, July 15, 2024
A. Each local
				school board shall provide guidance regarding what would constitute an excused
				absence in order to address when the explanation provided by the parent will be
				determined to be reasonable and acceptable.
B. Each local school board shall develop
				procedures to ensure that appropriate interventions will be implemented when a
				student engages in a pattern of absences less than a full day, the explanation
				for which, if it were a full-day absence, would not be deemed an excused
				absence.
C. The following
				intervention steps shall be implemented to respond to unexcused absences from
				school and to engage students in regular school attendance.
1. Whenever a student fails to report to
				school on a regularly scheduled school day and no information has been received
				by school personnel that the student's parent is aware of and supports the
				absence, or the parent provides a reason for the absence that is unacceptable
				to the school administration, the school principal or designee, attendance
				officer, or other school personnel or volunteer will notify the parent by phone
				or email or any other electronic means to obtain an explanation. The school
				staff shall record the student's absence for each day as "excused" or
				"unexcused." Early intervention with the student and parent or parents shall
				take place for repeated unexcused absences.
2. When a student has received five unexcused
				absences, the school principal or designee shall make a reasonable effort to
				ensure that direct contact is made with the parent. The parent shall be
				contacted in a face-to-face conference, by telephone, or through the use of
				other communication devices. During the direct contact with the parent and the
				student (if appropriate), reasons for nonattendance shall be documented and the
				consequences of nonattendance explained. An attendance plan shall be made with
				the student and parent or parents to resolve the nonattendance issues. The
				student and parent may be referred to a school-based multi-disciplinary team
				for assistance implementing the attendance plan and case management.
3. When the student accrues a seventh
				unexcused absence, the school principal or principal's designee shall schedule
				a face-to-face attendance conference, or an interaction that is conducted
				through the use of communication technology. The attendance conference must be
				held within 10 school days from the date of the 10th unexcused absence. The
				principal or principal's designee shall make reasonable efforts to contact the
				student's parent or parents to attend the attendance conference either in
				person or via communication technology. If the principal or principal's
				designee, after reasonable efforts have been made, is unable to contact the
				student's parent, the conference shall be held regardless of whether the
				student's parent approves of the conference. The conference shall include the
				principal or principal's designee and a representative from the
				multi-disciplinary team.
4. The
				multi-disciplinary team shall monitor the student's attendance and, as
				necessary, meet again to address concerns and plan additional interventions if
				the student's attendance does not improve. If additional meetings are
				necessary, the principal or principal's designee shall make reasonable efforts
				to contact the student's parent or parents and schedule a face-to-face meeting,
				or an interaction that is conducted through the use of communication
				technology. If the principal or principal's designee, after reasonable efforts
				have been made, is unable to contact the student's parent, the conference shall
				be held regardless of whether the student's parent approves of the
				conference.
5. In circumstances in
				which the parent is intentionally noncompliant with compulsory attendance
				requirements or the student is resisting parental efforts to comply with
				compulsory attendance requirements, the school principal or principal's
				designee shall make a referral to the attendance officer . The attendance
				officer shall schedule a conference with the student and the student's parent
				or parents within 10 days of receiving the referral. The attendance officer may
				(i) file a complaint with the juvenile and domestic relations district court
				alleging the student is a child in need of supervision as defined in §
										16.1-228 of the Code
				of Virginia or (ii) institute proceedings against the parent pursuant to §
										18.2-371
				or
				22.1-262
				of the Code of Virginia. In addition to written documentation of the efforts to
				comply with the notice provisions of §
										22.1-258
				of the Code of Virginia, all records of intervention regarding the student's
				unexcused absences, such as copies of the conference meeting notes, attendance
				plan, and description of the supports offered or made available to the student
				shall be presented to the intake worker.