Truancy
A student is considered truant when he or she is absent from school without a valid excuse for three full
days in one school year or is tardy or absent for more than any 30-minute period during the school day on
three occasions in one school year, or any combination thereof. The school shall report the student to the
local public school district's attendance office or its superintendent.
In the event that a school suspects that a student is truant (absent from school without a valid excuse), the
school administration should first contact the parents/guardians. If the school suspects that the student is a
habitual truant (absent three times in a school year without a valid excuse) and all resources at the school
level have been exhausted, the school principal should notify the local Child Welfare and Attendance
authorities.
If a student has been reported once as a truant and then is absent again for one or more days without a
valid excuse or tardy on one or more days without a valid excuse, the school should again report the
student as truant to the local public school district's attendance office or its superintendent. A student who
has been reported as truant three or more times is considered a habitual truant and is subject to dismissal.
If a student has been absent without excuse, and it is impossible to contact the parents/guardians within
24 hours and after repeated attempts, the school should notify the attendance office of the local public
school district, the local police department, Child Protective Services, or all of those agencies.