JHB – Truancy

If a student is absent without a parental/guardian excuse provided either in writing, electronically or verbally, or if the student leaves school or class without permission of the teacher or administrator in charge, the student shall be considered truant. Determination of an absence as excused or unexcused will be based upon the criteria stated in School Board Policy JH. A "habitual truant" shall be defined as a student of compulsory attendance age who has four (4) total days of unexcused absences from school in any one calendar month or ten (10) total days of unexcused absences during any school year. The determination of a "habitually truant" status for a student is calculated using the sum of unexcused absences converted to days and fractions of days. Said absences are cumulative, need not be consecutive, nor confined to one class. Absences due to suspension or expulsion shall not be counted in the total of unexcused absences for purposes of defining a student as an "habitual truant."
A plan shall be developed for a student who is declared habitually truant with the goal of assisting the student to remain in school. To the extent possible, the student's parent/guardian shall participate with District personnel, including, as appropriate, the District's designated attendance officer, to develop the plan. Appropriate school personnel shall make all reasonable efforts to meet with the parent/guardian to review and evaluate the reasons for the student's truancy and to develop strategies to address the reasons for the student's truancy. To reduce incidents of truancy, parents/guardians of all students shall be notified in either writing or electronically at the beginning of each school year of their obligation to ensure that all students of compulsory attendance age attend school. Parents/guardians shall be required to acknowledge either in writing or electronically awareness of their obligations and to furnish the school with a telephone number, email address, or other means of contacting them during the school day. All District schools shall establish a system of monitoring individual excused and unexcused absences. When a student fails to report on a regularly scheduled school day and school personnel have received no indication that the parent/guardian is aware of the absence, school personnel or their designees shall make a reasonable effort to notify the parent/guardian by telephone, text message, or email. In accordance with law, the District may impose appropriate penalties that relate directly to classes missed while truant. Penalties may include a warning, school detention, in-school suspension, or other alternative to suspension. Academic penalties, out-of-school suspensions and expulsion shall not be imposed for any truancy. District administration shall develop regulations to implement nonexclusionary strategies and procedures to address truancy. Originally Adopted: December 10, 2007 Last Revised: April 12, 2010 Current Revision: January 8, 2024
Cross References: IHBG – Home Schooling
JEA – Compulsory Attendance Ages
JH – Student Absences and Excuses
JFC – Student Withdrawal from School/Dropouts
Legal References: C.R.S. § 22-14-101, et. seq. (dropout prevention and student re-engagement)
C.R.S. § 22-32-109(1)(p) (requirement to appoint an attendance officer)
C.R.S. § 22-33-204 (compulsory school attendance)
C.R.S. § 22-33-105 (suspension, expulsion and denial of admission)
C.R.S. § 22-33-107 (enforcement of compulsory school attendance)
C.R.S. § 22-33-108 (judicial proceedings to enforce school attendance laws)
1 CCR 301-78 Rules 1.00 et. seq. (standardized calculation for counting student attendance and truancy)
Adoption Date: December 10, 2007 Last Revised: January 08, 2024
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