Code:
JHB
TRUANCY
A student is habitually truant if he/she
is required to attend school or alternative instruction under Maine compulsory
attendance law (20-A M.R.S.A. § 5001-A) and he/she:
A. Has completed grade 6 and has the
equivalent of 10 full days of unexcused absences or 7 consecutive school days
of unexcused absences during a school year; or
B. Is at least 7 years of age and has not
completed grade 6 and has the equivalent of 7 full days of unexcused absences
or 5 consecutive school days of unexcused absences during a school year.
The
Board or Board designee shall appoint one or more attendance coordinators in
accordance with state law. The attendance coordinator in each building in MSAD
#41 shall be the building principal overseen by the superintendent. The duties
of the attendance coordinator include, but are not limited to:
A. When notified that a student’s attendance
is irregular, interviewing the student and the
parent(s) to determine the cause of the irregular attendance and file a written
report with the superintendent; [NOTE: For the purpose of this policy, “parent(s)”
means the student’s parent(s) or legal guardian(s).]
B. Filing an annual report with the
Superintendent summarizing school year activities, findings and recommendations
regarding truants;
C. Serving as a member of the dropout
prevention committee; and
D. Serving as the liaison between the school
and the local law enforcement agency in matters pertaining to student
absenteeism under Maine’s compulsory attendance and truancy laws (20-A M.R.S.A.§ § 5001-A, 5051-A).
As required by law, the following procedure shall be followed when
a student is habitually truant.
A. If the principal determines that a student
is habitually truant, the principal. shall first try to correct the problem informally.
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Code: JHB
Informal
attempts to correct the problem must include meeting with the student and the
student’s parent to identify possible causes of the habitual truancy and to
develop a plan to implement solutions to the problem. If the initial meeting does not resolve the
problem, Principal shall implement interventions that best address the problem
including but not limited to:
1. Frequent communication between the teacher
and the family;
2. Changes in the learning environment;
3. Mentoring;
4. Student
counseling;
5. Tutoring, including peer tutoring;
6. Placement
into different classes;
7. Evaluation
for alternative education programs;
8. Attendance
contracts;
9. Referral
to other agencies for family services; and
10. Other
interventions including but not limited to referral to the superintendent,
student assistance team, or dropout prevention committee.
Failure
of the student or the student’s parent(s) to appear at scheduled meetings does
not preclude school administrators from implementing a plan to address a
student’s truancy.
B. As part of correcting the problem
informally, the Principal shall require the student and his/her parent(s) to
attend one or more meetings with the student’s teacher or other school
personnel designated by the Principal.
The purpose of the meeting(s) is to reinforce the plan referenced in
paragraph A or to develop an alternative plan.
Such meetings may involve others including but not limited to case
managers, therapeutic treatment providers, and representatives of the
Department of Human Services, the
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Code: JHB
Department of Behavioral and Developmental Services, and the
Department of Corrections. The Principal
shall schedule the meeting(s) at mutually convenient times.
C. If the Principal is unable to correct the
student’s truancy the Principal will notify the Superintendent of Schools. The
Superintendent may direct the Principal to take additional steps or the
Superintendent shall serve or cause to be served upon the parent(s) in-hand or
by registered mail a written notice that the student’s attendance is required
by law. The notice shall:
1. State that the student is required to
attend school pursuant to 20-A M.R.S.A. §5001-A (the compulsory attendance
law);
2. Explain the parent’s right to inspect the
student’s attendance records, attendance coordinator’s reports, and principal’s
reports;
3. Explain that the failure to send the
student to school and maintain the student in regular attendance is a civil
violation in accordance with 20-A M.R.S.A. § 5053-A and explain the possible
penalties;
[NOTE:
The penalties are described in 20-A M.R.S.A. § 5053-A and include a
minimum $250.00 fine (an increase from $25.00); the court may also order a
parent to take specific action to ensure the student’s attendance including
compliance with the plan developed in accordance with paragraph A of this
policy, participation in a parent-training class, attending school with the child,
community service hours at the school, or participation in counseling or other
services as appropriate. All or part of
the fine may be suspended upon the parent’s compliance with a court order.]
4. State that the Superintendent or Principal may notify local law
enforcement authorities of a violation of the habitual truancy statute and the
Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) as provided by 20-A M.R.S.A. §
5051-A(C) (the notice provision); and
[NOTE: The
definition of “child abuse and neglect” now includes “failure to ensure
compliance with school attendance requirements (in regard to students from age
7 up to completion of sixth grade) under 20-A M.R.S.A. §3272 (2)(B) (the truancy law as applied to students in unorganized
territories) or §5051-A(1)(C) (notice to parents of habitual truants under the
attendance statute) by a person responsible for the child.”
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NSBA Code: JHB
Similarly, the definition of “jeopardy to health or welfare” or
“jeopardy” has been expanded to mean “serious abuse or neglect as evidenced by . . . deprivation of
adequate food, clothing, shelter, supervision or care or education when the
child is at least 7 year of age and has not completed grade 6.” See 22-M.R.S.A. § 4002 for
these definitions. The “mandatory
reporting” statute is 22 M.R.S.A. § 4011-A.]
5. Outline
the plan developed to address the student’s habitual truancy and the steps that
have been taken to implement that plan.
D. Prior
to notifying local law enforcement authorities, the Superintendent or Principal
shall schedule at least one meeting as required by law and paragraph B of this
policy and may invite a local prosecutor.
E. If
after three school days after the service of the notice described in paragraph
C of this policy the student remains truant and the parent(s) and student
refuse to attend the meeting referred to in paragraph D, the Superintendent or
Principal shall report the facts of the unlawful absence to local law
enforcement authorities.
F. When
a student is determined to be habitually truant and in
violation of the compulsory attendance law and the Superintendent and Principal
have made a good faith attempt to meet the requirements of paragraph B of this
policy, the Superintendent/designee shall notify the Board and local law
enforcement authorities of the truancy.
After this notification, a local law enforcement officer who sees the
truant student may transport the student to the appropriate school if the
truant student is off school grounds during school hours and not under the
supervision of school personnel.
The
Superintendent shall submit an annual report regarding habitual truancy to the
Commissioner by October 1. The report
must identify the number of habitual truants in the school administrative unit in
the preceding school year; describe the school unit’s efforts to deal with
habitual truancy; account for actions brought to enforce the habitual truancy
law; and include any other information on truancy requested by the
Commissioner.
Legal
Reference: 20-A MRSA §§ 5001-A;
5051-A-5054-A
Cross
Reference: JEA – Compulsory Attendance
JFC – Dropout
Prevention—Student Withdrawal from School
JLF – Reporting Child
Abuse and Neglect
First Reading: February 2, 2011
Adopted: March 2, 2011
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