Compulsory attendance policy

RIO GALLINAS SCHOOL COMPULSORY ATTENDANCE POLICY

In accordance with the state compulsory attendance law, parents or guardians are responsible for insuring that their child is in school. Attendance will be taken in every class and each day. Absence for more than 50% of the instructional day will be considered a full day.


Class Attendance: Regular attendance is essential to a student’s success in school. Persistent absenteeism creates a genuine hardship for a student academically and socially and is regarded as a very serious problem.

Appropriate legal procedures will be followed for ten or more unexcused absences during the school year, considered habitual truancy, as specified and required by the Public School Code. A student who has accumulated five unexcused absences within a school year is considered truant. However, the school staff are aware of repeated unexcused absences before the point of truancy and will intervene both informally by conferring with the student and more formally through parent/guardian contact and conferences to determine the cause of the student’s absenteeism.

In no case will Rio Gallinas students be punished for truancy by suspension and/or expulsion.

Notification of Absences: In the event of an unexcused absence, the school will contact the parent/guardian as soon as possible to notify them of their child’s absence.

Each trimester parents/guardians will be informed of their child’s total absences. Rio Gallinas administration will notify parents/guardians of absences through written correspondence or through phone calls.

Excused Absences: In order for an absence to be valid the student must bring a written excuse signed by the parent the day he/she returns to school. A valid excuse is considered illness, death in family, prearranged family event, or religious holiday. Prior notification is requested for students missing school due to family trips or pre-planned extended absences. It is the responsibility of the student and his/her parent/guardian to communicate with teachers regarding homework and classwork assignments for that period.

Consequences for absences: The school will document attempts to notify the parent about her/his child’s unexcused absences, attempts of the school to meet with the parent/guardian to discuss intervention strategies and intervention strategies implemented to support keeping the child in school.


Step 1: Initial Meeting for Students in Need of Early Intervention

After two incidents of unexcused absences, the student is contacted and counseled by the director. In the meeting the student and director decide what kind of support is needed for the student. Parent/Guardian(s) is notified by a phone call and/or letter and a phone conference is held discussing what was decided in initial meeting between student and director. After school tutoring may be required as support for student to make-up missed assignments. The notification to the student and parent/guardian will be respectful and in a language and manner that is understandable to the student and parent/guardian.

Step 2: Parent/Guardian Conference for Students in Need of Early Intervention

If student has five unexcused absences within a school year, a parent/guardian(s) will be notified of continued truancy by a phone call and letter and/or email. The letter/email shall include a date, time, and place for parent/guardian to meet to develop intervention strategies that focus on keeping the student in an educational setting. The notification to the student and parent/guardian will be respectful and in a language and manner that is understandable to the student and parent/guardian. After school tutoring may be required as support for student to make-up missed assignments.

Step 3: Meeting with Juvenile Probation and Parole Services in San Miguel County

If the student has ten unexcused absences in a school year, the student’s parent/guardian will be notified by mail/email and a phone call. The letter/email shall include a date, time, and place for parent/guardian to meet to develop new intervention strategies that focus on keeping the student in an educational setting. The notification to the student and parent/guardian will be respectful and in a language and manner that is understandable to the student and parent/guardian. After school tutoring may be required as support for student to make-up missed assignments.

Step 4: Contact with San Miguel County Probation

If there is another unexcused absence, within seven days, San Miguel probation offices will be contacted.