West Virginia Code of State Rules › Agency 126 - Education › Title 126 - LEGISLATIVE RULE BOARD OF EDUCATION › Series 126-081 - Attendance (Policy 4110) › Section 126-81-4 - Responsibilities

Current through Register Vol. XLI, No. 28, July 12, 2024
4.1. The WVBE shall
				encourage daily attendance and mandate that county school systems adequately
				address student absences including tardiness.
4.2. The WVBE shall define allowable
				deductions for purposes of state attendance reports and statistics. Schools
				shall not be held accountable for absences resulting from allowable deductions.
				These absences shall not be calculated in the school's/county's attendance
				rate.
4.3. Each county board of
				education shall:
4.3.a. establish an
				attendance policy as described in section 6.
4.3.b. employ a certified county director of
				school attendance as required by W. Va. Code §18 8 3.
4.3.c. support and require the county
				attendance director to implement and execute the duties as defined in W. Va.
				Code §
										18-8-4:
4.3.c.1. The attendance director and
				assistant director shall diligently promote regular school attendance through
				meaningful contact. They shall ascertain reasons for unexcused absences from
				school of students of compulsory school age and students who remain enrolled
				beyond the compulsory school age. They shall take such steps as are, in their
				discretion, best calculated to encourage the attendance of students and to
				impart upon the parents/guardians/custodians the importance of attendance and
				the seriousness of failing to attend school regularly.
4.3.c.2. In the case of three total Unexcused
				Absences of a student during a school year, the attendance director, assistant
				director, or principal shall make meaningful contact with the
				parent/guardian/custodian of the student to ascertain the reasons for the
				Unexcused Absences and what measures the school may employ to assist the
				student in attending and not incurring any additional Unexcused Absences.
4.3.c.3. In the case of five total
				Unexcused Absences, the attendance director or assistant director or principal
				shall again make meaningful contact with the parent/guardian/custodian of the
				student to ascertain the reasons for the Unexcused Absences and what measures
				the school may employ to assist the student in attending school and not
				incurring any additional Unexcused Absences.
4.3.c.4. In the case of 10 total Unexcused
				Absences of a student during a school year, the attendance director or
				assistant director may make complaint against the parent/guardian/custodian
				before a magistrate of the county. If it appears from the complaint that there
				is a probable cause to believe that an offense has been committed and that the
				accused has committed it, a summons or a warrant for the arrest of the accused
				shall issue to any officer authorized by law to serve the summons or to arrest
				persons charged with offenses against the state. More than one
				parent/guardian/custodian may be charged in a complaint. Initial service of the
				summons or warrant issued pursuant to the provisions of W. Va. Code §
											18-8-4
				shall be attempted within 10 calendar days of the receipt of the summons or
				warrant and subsequent attempts at service shall continue until the summons or
				warrant is executed or until the end of the school term during which the
				complaint is made, whichever is later.
4.3.c.5. When calculating Unexcused Absences
				for the purpose of making complaints against a parent/guardian/custodian before
				a magistrate, Unexcused Absences resulting from suspensions or expulsions from
				school shall not be considered.
4.3.c.6. The magistrate court clerk, or the
				clerk of the circuit court performing the duties of the magistrate court as
				authorized in W. Va. Code §
											50-1-8,
				shall assign the case to a magistrate within 10 days of execution of the
				summons or warrant. The hearing shall be held within 20 days of the assignment
				to the magistrate, subject to lawful continuance. The magistrate shall provide
				to the accused at least 10 days advance notice of the date, time, and place of
				the hearing.
4.3.c.7. When any
				doubt exists as to the age of a student absent from school, the attendance
				director or assistant director has authority to require a properly attested
				birth certificate or an affidavit from the parent/guardian/custodian of the
				student, stating age of the student. In the performance of their duties, the
				attendance director or assistant director has authority to take without warrant
				any student absent from school in violation of the provisions of this article
				and to place the student in the school in which the student is or should be
				enrolled.
4.3.c.8. All attendance
				directors and assistant directors hired for more than 200 days may be assigned
				other duties determined by the superintendent during the period in excess of
				200 days. The county attendance director is responsible under direction of the
				superintendent for efficiently administering school attendance in the
				county.
4.3.c.9. In addition to
				those duties directly relating to the administration of attendance, the
				attendance director and assistant director shall:
4.3.c.9.A. assist in directing the taking of
				the school census to see that it is taken at the time and in the manner
				provided by law;
4.3.c.9.B. confer
				with principals and teachers on the comparison of school census and enrollment
				for the detection of possible non-enrollees;
4.3.c.9.C. cooperate with existing state and
				federal agencies charged with enforcing child labor laws;
4.3.c.9.D. promote attendance in the county
				by compiling data for schools and by furnishing suggestions and recommendations
				for publication through media, or in such manner as the superintendent may
				direct;
4.3.c.9.E. participate in
				teachers' conferences with parents/guardians/custodians and students;
4.3.c.9.F. assist in such other ways as the
				superintendent may direct for improving school attendance; and
4.3.c.9.G. make home visits of students who
				have excessive Unexcused Absences or if requested by the chief administrator,
				principal, or assistant principal.
4.3.c.10. The attendance director shall serve
				as the liaison for homeless children and youth as defined in W. Va. Code §
											18-8-4
				and defined in McKinney-Vento Act. The attendance director shall:
4.3.c.10.A. ensure that public notice of the
				educational rights of students in homeless situations is disseminated where
				children and youth receive services;
4.3.c.10.B. ensure that
				parents/guardians/custodians are informed of educational and related
				opportunities available to their children, and are provided with meaningful
				opportunities to participate in the education of their children;
4.3.c.10.C. ensure that
				parents/guardians/custodians are informed of, and assisted in accessing, all
				transportation services for their children, including to the school of origin;
4.3.c.10.D. help unaccompanied
				youth choose and enroll in a school, after considering the youth's wishes, and
				provide the youth with notice of the right to appeal the county's decision;
4.3.c.10.E. immediately assist in
				obtaining immunizations or record of immunizations or other medical records for
				those students who do not have them, and assure that students are enrolled in
				school while the records are being obtained;
4.3.c.10.F. ensure that homeless children and
				youths are identified by school personnel and through coordination activities
				with other entities and agencies;
4.3.c.10.G. ensure that homeless children and
				youths enroll in, and have a full and equal opportunity to succeed in, schools
				of that county;
4.3.c.10.H. ensure
				that homeless families, children, and youth receive educational services for
				which such families, children, and youths are eligible including Head Start and
				preschool programs administered by the local educational agency, and referrals
				to health care services, dental services, mental health services, and other
				appropriate services; and
4.3.c.10.I. ensure that enrollment disputes
				are mediated as outlined in Paragraph (3)(E) of the McKinney-Vento Act.
4.3.c.11. The attendance
				director shall file with the superintendent and county board of education, at
				the close of each month, a report showing activities of the attendance office
				and the status of attendance in the county at the time due to provisions in W.
				Va. Code §
											18-8-4.
4.3.d. support and require the principal to
				implement and execute the duties as defined in W. Va. Code §
										18-8-5:
4.3.d.1. The principal shall compare school
				numbers with school enrollment monthly.
4.3.d.2. In the case of five total Unexcused
				Absences, the attendance director or assistant director or principal shall make
				meaningful contact with the parent/guardian/custodian of the student to
				ascertain the reasons for the Unexcused Absences and what measures the school
				may employ to assist the student in attending and not incurring any additional
				Unexcused Absences.
4.3.d.3. It
				shall be the duty of the principal of each school, whether public or private,
				to make meaningful contact and provide prompt reports to the attendance
				director, or proper assistant director, of all cases of Unexcused Absences
				arising within the school which require the services of an attendance worker.
4.3.d.4. A student whose
				educational services are guided by an existing SAT Plan, IEP, or Section 504
				Plan may warrant special consideration when a pattern of single, multiple, or
				chronic absences exist. The student's current status should be reviewed by the
				SAT, IEP, or Section 504 Plan team as deemed appropriate and in accordance with
				state and federal laws.