Attendance Policy

[lufkin]

The goal of this post is to set the record straight on what is required by law, and by District policy with regards to attendance. But first, a caveat.... I am not a lawyer!

First, lets look at State Law.

§70-10-106. Records of attendance of pupil - Report of absence.

If a child is absent without valid excuse four (4) or more days or parts of days within a four-week period or is absent without valid excuse for ten (10) or more days or parts of days within a semester, the attendance officer shall notify the parent, guardian or custodian of the child and immediately report such absences to the district attorney in the county wherein the school is located for juvenile proceedings pursuant to Title 10A of the Oklahoma Statutes.

Note that it also mentions part days. So if you take your child out of school for the last half of a day, that is counted as an absence.

Now for Mustang's Policy which pretty much is the same as State Law (since it kinda has to).

Mustang Public Schools Policy #5020

If a child is absent without valid excuse four (4) or more days or parts of days within a four week period or is absent without valid excuse for ten (10) or more days or parts of days within a semester, the attendance officer shall notify the parent, guardian, or custodian of the child and immediately report
such absences to the District Attorney in the county wherein the school is located for juvenile proceedings pursuant to Title 10 of the Oklahoma Statutes.

So yes, pretty much the same thing. The State law does not state what an excused absence is, and does not state what "part of a day" is. Mustangs policy does expand upon that.

Mustang Public Schools Policy #5020

Verified Absence:
A. An absence is classified as verified only when parent notification of one of the following conditions exists.
1. The student is excused from attending school by reason of mental or physical disability as determined by the district upon receipt of written recommendation by a duly licensed and practicing physician.
2. The student is excused from attendance at school during observance of a religious holiday.
3. The student is excused from attendance at school if the absence is deemed by the principal and parent/guardian to be an emergency.
4. The student is excused with Physician’s diagnosis accompanying documentation.
5. The student is excused with a documented court appearance.

B. A student is excused from attendance if the parent/legal guardian has been called to duty for, is on leave from, or has immediately returned from deployment to a combat zone or combat support posting and may be granted excused absences at the discretion of the Superintendent or designee.

So those are the excuses that Mustang allows. If you recall, the State Law doesn't specify.

Now what constitutes a part day?

Mustang Public Schools Policy #5020

ATTENDANCE PROVISIONS
C. Students must be in attendance at least two of the first three hours or two of the last three hours to be
recorded present one-half day, each for the morning and afternoon.

So what kind of punishment can the District dish out? Well pretty much anything really.

Mustang Public Schools Policy #5020

ATTENDANCE PROVISIONS
B. Students who are unaccounted for and/or truant may receive additional disciplinary action in accordance
with Board Policy #5080.

Board Policy 5080 pretty much allows the District to issue any form of punishment it wishes.

Mustang Public Schools Policy #5080

The administrator has the discretion to choose any disciplinary action in regard to unacceptable
student behavior. The following examples of behavior are not acceptable in society generally and in the
school environment particularly:
1. Truancy

Yikes!

[lufkin]

So to expand a bit more, I want to talk about one particular excuse:

4. The student is excused with Physician’s diagnosis accompanying documentation.

I have a couple of problems with this policy, aside from the poor English.

First, if my child goes to a Doctor, or medical professional in general, the school has no right to know why. That is confidential medical information. Now normally, a school will accept a note from a Doctor that simply says "Jane Doe was under my care/seen by me on X date". But the way the policy is worded is not good.

Secondly, by forcing parents to get a Doctors note, you are forcing them to spend money, money they may not have. That policy discriminates against lower class families who are struggling to make ends meet already.

Now since this is a Mustang Policy, and State Law doesn't address it, it is something that can be changed.