���Attendance Boot Camp�September 21, 2022

Cheryl Routzahn and Josh Smith

Clarksville-Montgomery County School System

Attendance and Record Keeping �Covid Continuation…..

• Know what your health department/school system requires for

covid absences, quarantines, and documentation.

• Know how your school system tracks virtual attendance (based on log in time, completion of work, and technology problems etc.)
• Know how your district tracks attendance for students in the Adult HS & AGE (for students who are expelled).
• What does your local judge expect this year, as far as filing truancy petitions? Be proactive in meeting with your judges, include your superintendent.

Job Description

• Truant officers, who are also called attendance supervisors, truancy officers and superintendent’s designees ensure that students are attending school and intervene with students who have unexcused or excessive absences.
• Additionally, they may serve as liaisons between school officials, parents, law enforcement agencies and the court system. Other responsibilities could be determined by your district such as: data, zoning, ADM funding, custody, discipline appeals, enrollment, court appearances, truancy review board, truancy intervention class, and referral source.

What is Chronic Absenteeism?

• Chronic absenteeism is defined as missing ten percent or more of the academic year for any reason, including excused and unexcused absences, suspensions and time missed due to changing schools. Based on a 180 day school year, that means a student would miss 18 days per year. 1.
• Beginning in the 2017-18 school year, chronic absenteeism became a part of district and school accountability. The measure is called the Chronically Out-of-School Indicator.

1.Source: Attendanceworks.org

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Interactive Chronic �Absenteeism Map��http://www.brookings.edu/blog/up-front/2019/09/10/what-are-the-factors-that-affect-learning-at-your-school�

Why does Attendance Matter?

• Absenteeism in the first month of school can predict poor attendance throughout the school year. Half of the students who miss 2-4 days in September go on to miss nearly a month of school. 1.
• Over 8 million U.S. students miss nearly a month of school each year. 2.
• One in 10 kindergarten and first grade students are chronically absent. 3.
• Poor attendance can influence whether children read proficiently by the end of the third grade or be held back. 4.
• By 6^th grade, chronic absenteeism becomes a leading indicator that a student will drop out of school. 5.
• Students who live in poverty are four times more likely to be chronically absent than others, for reasons beyond their control. 6.

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What is Truancy?

• In Tennessee, a student is considered truant at five unexcused absences and may be subject to legal intervention. Each school system has the autonomy to determine what is an excused and unexcused absence.

Incentives to Keep Students �in School

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Students

• SF1010-Drivers License

*Some new changes this year

• Attendance incentives/awards
• Exempt from exams
• Earn a diploma
• Better mental/physical/social health
• Better literacy performance

School

• Graduation rates
• Chronic absenteeism numbers
• Burden on society
• Better mental/physical/social health
• Better literacy performance
• Funding

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Tier Process

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• State legislature updated Tennessee Code Annotated 49-6-3009 on July 1, 2018, to include Progressive Truancy Intervention Plans throughout all school districts within the state of Tennessee. This involves a 3-tiered approach. These tiers must not be punitive in nature (connect family to resources…..). The tiers are designed to help the child and family improve attendance.
• The 3-tiered process should be completed before a truancy petition is filed in juvenile court. However, if at any point a parent and/or student refuses to cooperate (at any tier), a petition should be filed for noncompliance.

Tier 1

Effective July 2021 (TCA Section 49-6-3009 amendment):

Progressive truancy plan must include school wide prevention-oriented supports day one. So all students are in Tier 1, on day one.

-What are you doing BEFORE they miss school?

-What does this look like for YOUR district?

-3 day letter? Literature sent home the 1^st day of school? Is your attendance policy on your website? Automated phone calls, social media platforms, mailings, postcards (QR codes), in the student handbook, text, and emails etc….

-Offer list of available resources to parents

Clarksville-Montgomery County Community Resources

Tier 2

• Tier 2: When a student accumulates five (5) days of unexcused absences, as specified in the LEA’s progressive truancy plan, and must include at a minimum: a conference between school officials, parent(s), and student to discuss the unexcused absences, address barriers, and sign an attendance contract. The contract must also include attendance expectations, the period the contract is in effect, next steps when additional absences occur, regularly scheduled follow-up meetings, and if necessary, referral of the child to services to address attendance problems.

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Tier 3

• Must be implemented if the truancy interventions under tier 2 are not successful. Tier 3 may consist of one (1) or more of the following: school-based community services; participation in school-based restorative justice program; referral to a school-based teen court; or Saturday School, Truancy Review Board, or after school courses designed to improve attendance and behavior. In-school or out-of-school suspension must not be used as part of the progressive truancy intervention plans adopted by schools for unexcused absences from class or school.

Truancy Intervention Class �for Parents

https://rise.articulate.com/share/Ys-8ci8DtDO7nB6cMOuKO9_oKvbzeFAv

Noncompliance

When a student or parent is unwilling to cooperate in the truancy intervention plan, the attendance designee may report the student’s absences to the appropriate Judge pursuant to § 37-1-132, 37-1-168, and 37-1-169.

Things to consider before �filing a petition

• Does the student have an IEP? (Manifestation Mtg)
• How does your superintendent and/or judge feel about you filing on severe special needs children or health impaired students?
• What is the minimum number of unexcused absences your judges are willing to consider when filing a truancy petition? 5? 10? 15? 30? Is the standard the same; compliant vs noncompliant?
• Filing on 504 students? Do you have a policy for students with chronic health problems?
• Filing on students with early dismissals and tardy days?
• Family history, truancy history and etc….

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Best Practices

• Do your research (i.e. neighborhood, family history etc.).
• Do things in teams when possible (travel log sign in/sign out).
• Leave a record of the student’s name and address before making a home visit.
• Be aware of homeschool options (independent, private, umbrella schools).
• Know of homebound procedures and attendance expectations.
• Ask for assistance from an SRO or law enforcement.
• Have a witness present when dealing with volatile parents.
• Know the court personnel and the facts they need (big picture information).
• Tracking absenteeism (i.e. running reports, truancy tab in PS).
• Be visible when meeting with students.
• Document, document, document!

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Best Practices Before Going to Court

• Make sure your attendance data is up-to-date, especially the morning of court.
• Make sure the manifestation meeting was held.
• Give the judge a 360 degree view of student (if permitted).
• A. Grades and credits
• B. Discipline
• C. Tardies and early dismissals
• D. Attendance teacher documentation
• E. Past truancy issues, family truancy issues (it’s a family problem)
• F. Unique circumstances (move around, mental health issues etc.)

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FERPA

• The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) is a federal law that affords parents the right to have access to their children’s education records, the right to seek to have the records amended, and the right to have some control over the disclosure of personally identifiable information from the education records. When a student turns 18 years old, or enters a postsecondary institution at any age, the rights under FERPA transfer from the parents to the student (“eligible student”). The FERPA statute is found at 20 U.S.C. § 1232g and the FERPA regulations are found at 34 CFR Part 99.

Things Not to Do…

• Don’t use or look in a mailbox.
• Don’t give identifying information to neighbors or contacts on an emergency card.
• Don’t lose control with an irate parent.
• Don’t pick up the phone, rather let your phone go to voice mail.
• Post your dissatisfaction with school, courts, DCS, parents and etc. on social media.
• Trespass.
• Get in the middle of custody issues.

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Resources To Make the �Job Easier

• Property Assessors Website
• White Pages, Been Verified.com
• Facebook and any other type of social media
• Neighbors, friends, family etc…
• County to county, last known school
• Door hanger
• Special notebook for schools

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• Home visits, work place visits
• Relationships with doctor’s offices, housing authority
• School Counselors/Social Workers
• SRO’s
• Aunt Bertha website: findhelp.org

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�Resources to Make the Job Easier (continued) �

• Conferences
• Other Attendance Supervisors
• RUG meetings
• Working relationship with Judges, YSO’s and DCS
• Attendance Manual https://www.tn.gov/content/dam/tn/education/reports/331958_membership_attendance_manual.pdf
• Attendance Supervisor notebook
• Foreign language translations

• Be familiar with your school/county attendance policy, religious holidays
• Flexibility (Last year is an example!)
• Attendanceworks.org
• Good record keeping (do you depend on your schools for information or do you run your reports?)
• Stay on top of no shows and drop outs so they are easier to track down

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RUG �Representation

Questions ?

Please feel free to email us at

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cheryl.routzahn@cmcss.net

and

joshua.smith@cmcss.net

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References

• 1. http://Baltimore-berc.org/wpcontent/uploads/2014/08/SeptemberAttendanceBriefJuly2014.pdf
• 2. https://www.attendanceworks.org/portraits-of-change/
• 3. http://www.nccp.org/publications/pdf/text_837.pdf
• 4. https://www.attendanceworks.org/wpcontent/uploads/2017/06/Attendance-in-the-early-grades.pdf
• 5. http://www.Baltimore-berc.org/pdfs/SixthGradeEWIFullReport.pdf
• 6. http://www.nccp.org/publications/pdf/text_837.pdf

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