Louisiana School Discipline Laws & Regulations: Chronic Absenteeism and Truancy

Louisiana School Discipline Laws & Regulations: Chronic Absenteeism and Truancy

Category: Discipline Addressing Specific Code of Conduct Violations
Subcategory: Chronic Absenteeism and Truancy
State: Louisiana

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Louisiana

LAWS

§17:221. School attendance; compulsory ages; duty of parents; excessive absences; condition for driving privileges.

A. (1) Every parent, tutor, or other person residing within the state of Louisiana having control or charge of any child from that child's seventh birthday until his eighteenth birthday shall send such child to a public or private day school, unless the child graduates from high school prior to his eighteenth birthday. Any child below the age of seven who legally enrolls in school shall also be subject to the provisions of this Subpart. Every parent, tutor, or other person responsible for sending a child to a public or private day school under provisions of this Subpart shall also assure the attendance of such child in regularly assigned classes during regular school hours established by the school board and shall assure that such child is not habitually tardy from school pursuant to the provisions of R.S. 17:233.

(2) Whoever violates the provisions of this Subsection shall be fined not more than two hundred and fifty dollars or imprisoned not more than thirty days, or both. The court shall impose a minimum condition of probation which may include that the parent, tutor, or other person having control or charge of the child participate in forty hours of school or community service activities, or a combination of forty hours of school or community service and attendance in parenting classes or family counseling sessions or programs approved by the court having jurisdiction, as applicable, or the suspension of any state-issued recreational license.

(3) Whoever violates any other provision of this Subpart or any other provision of law which provides for the penalty provided for in this Section shall be fined not more than fifteen dollars, and, for such violations, each day the violation continues shall constitute a separate offense.

(4) Visiting teachers or supervisors of child welfare and attendance, with the approval of the parish or city superintendents of schools, shall file proceedings in court to enforce the provisions of this Subpart.

B. (1) A city, parish, or other local public school board shall grant admission or readmission to school to any person who meets all of the following criteria:

(a) Resides within the geographic boundaries of the school system.

(b) Meets the eligibility requirements for school entrance pursuant to R.S. 17:222(A).

(c) Is nineteen years of age or younger on September thirtieth of the calendar year in which the school year begins or is twenty years of age on September thirtieth of the calendar year in which the school year begins and has sufficient course credits that he will be able to graduate within one school year of admission or readmission.

(d) Has not received a high school diploma or its equivalent.

(e) Is otherwise eligible for enrollment in a public school pursuant to state law and the policies of the local school board and the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education.

(2) If a person meets all of the criteria in Paragraph (1) of this Subsection, no city, parish, or other local public school board may deny him admission or readmission based on any of the following characteristics:

(a) The person voluntarily withdrew from school.

(b) The person is pregnant.

(d) The person is married.

(3) The admission or readmission of a person who will be twenty years of age on September thirtieth of the calendar year in which the school year begins shall be limited to grade twelve.

(4) The admission or readmission of any person who has been suspended or expelled from a Louisiana public school is subject to all laws and policies applicable to such disciplinary actions.

(5) The admission or readmission of a person with an exceptionality is subject to federal and state law governing the age of eligibility for services for students with exceptionalities.

C. Each of the school boards shall:

(1) Develop and submit to the state superintendent of education a detailed written program plan designed to improve school attendance, based on local needs and resources.

(2) Give priority in selecting pilot schools within the local school districts to those with the highest percentage of nonattendance.

(3) Focus the program in a manner designed to remedy the underlying problems causing poor school attendance.

D. Each school shall develop and implement a system whereby the school shall attempt to provide verbal notification and, if such verbal notification cannot be provided, then shall provide written notification to a child's parent, tutor, or legal guardian when that child has been absent from school for five school days in schools operating on a semester basis, and for ten days in schools not operating on a semester basis.

E. Repealed by Acts 2010, No. 927, § 1, effective August 15, 2010.

F. The parent, tutor, or other person responsible for the school attendance of a child who is under age eighteen and who is enrolled in school beyond his sixteenth birthday may request that the student be allowed to attend an alternative education program or a vocational-technical education program. In the case of a child who has no parent, tutor, or other person responsible for his school attendance, the superintendent of the city, parish, or other local public school system may act on behalf of the student in making such a request. Upon such request, the superintendent of the city, parish, or other local school system in which the student is enrolled shall be responsible for determining whether the student remains in the regular school setting or attends an alternative education program or a vocational-technical education program and for developing and implementing an individualized plan of education for such student.

G. The provisions of Paragraph (A)(1) of this Section shall not be applicable to any child who is under the age of seventeen and is attending or is seeking admission to a National Guard Youth Challenge Program in this state, and the parent, tutor, or legal guardian of any such child shall not be considered in violation of the provisions of Paragraph (A)(1) of this Section.

§17:232. Attendance records, principals’ and teachers’ duty to furnish; penalty for violation; pupil absence upon own authority prohibited; notice.

A. Visiting teachers, or supervisors of child welfare and attendance, shall receive the cooperation of all teachers and principals, public and private, in the parish or city in which they are appointed to serve. The principals, or heads, and the teachers of all schools, public, private, denominational, and parochial, shall report in writing to the visiting teachers, or supervisors of child welfare and attendance, the name, birthdate, race, parents, and residence of each pupil in attendance at their schools or classes within thirty days after the beginning of the school term or session, and at such other times as may be required, and make such other reports not inconsistent with law on attendance, census, and child-school adjustment as may be required by the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education or the State Department of Education, all in accordance with rules adopted pursuant to the Administrative Procedure Act and reviewed in public hearings by legislative oversight subcommittees acting under the authority of R.S. 49:968.

B. (1) The attendance of all school pupils shall be checked each school day and at the beginning of each class period and shall be verified by the teacher keeping such record, which shall be open to inspection by the visiting teacher, or supervisor of child welfare and attendance, or duly authorized representative, at all reasonable times. All schools shall immediately report to the visiting teacher, or supervisor of child welfare and attendance, any unexplained, unexcused, or illegal absence, or habitual tardiness.

(2) Effective with the 1995-1996 school year and thereafter, no public elementary or secondary school pupil shall be permitted for any reason to absent himself from school attendance during the school day upon his own authority. The school principal or the principal's designee shall make all reasonable efforts to verbally notify the parent or other person responsible for the pupil's school attendance of any such prohibited absence by a pupil. For the purposes of notification as required by this Paragraph, a parent or other person responsible for a pupil's school attendance may designate in writing with the school principal one or more alternative contact persons.

C. The provisions of this Section shall not apply to schools which receive no local, state, or federal funds or support, directly or indirectly, and in which neither students nor their parents are recipients or beneficiaries of any local, state, or federal education program or assistance. However, such schools shall be required to report to the state Department of Education their total attendance as of the thirtieth day of their school term or session.

No school which violates the provisions of R.S. 14:358 or R.S. 42:54 shall be exempted from the provisions of this Section.

D. Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, each school in this state, both public and nonpublic, shall, upon the request of the city or parish public school system within which such school is located, state whether any individual student is enrolled in such school and whether such pupil is fulfilling the compulsory attendance requirements provided under R.S. 17:221.

§17:233. Cases of habitual absence or tardiness referred to juvenile or family court; denial or suspension of driving privileges.

A. Any student who is a juvenile and who is habitually absent from school or is habitually tardy shall be reported by visiting teachers and supervisors of child welfare and attendance to the family or juvenile court of the parish or city as a truant child, pursuant to the provisions of Chapter 2 of Title VII of the Louisiana Children's Code relative to families in need of services, there to be dealt with in such manner as the court may determine, either by placing the truant in a home or in a public or private institution where school may be provided for the child, or otherwise.

B.(1)(a) A student shall be considered habitually absent or habitually tardy when either condition continues to exist after all reasonable efforts by any school personnel, truancy officer, or other law enforcement personnel have failed to correct the condition after the fifth unexcused absence or fifth unexcused occurrence of being tardy within any school semester.

(b) The parent or legal guardian of a student shall enforce the attendance of the student at the school to which the student is assigned.

(c) The principal of the school, or his designee, shall notify the parent or legal guardian in writing on or before a student's third unexcused absence or unexcused occurrence of being tardy, and shall hold a conference with such student's parent or legal guardian. This notification shall include information relative to the parent or legal guardian's legal responsibility to enforce the student's attendance at school and the civil penalties that may be incurred if the student is determined to be habitually absent or habitually tardy. The student's parent or legal guardian shall sign a receipt for such notification.

(d) The parent or legal guardian of any student in kindergarten through grade eight who is considered habitually absent or habitually tardy pursuant to the provisions of this Section shall be in violation of the provisions of Subparagraph (b) of this Paragraph and shall be punished as follows:

(i) A first offense shall be punishable by a fine of not more than fifty dollars or the performance of not less than twenty-five hours of community service.

(ii) Any subsequent offense shall be punishable in accordance with R.S. 17:221(A)(2).

(iii) For purposes of this Subparagraph, an offense means a violation of this Subsection by the parent or legal guardian of a child who is habitually absent or habitually tardy; multiple offenses may result from violations involving different habitually absent or tardy children of that parent or legal guardian.

(iv) In any case where the child is the subject of a court ordered custody or visitation plan, the parent or legal guardian who is lawfully exercising actual physical custody or visitation of the child shall be responsible for the child's attendance at school on those days and shall be solely responsible for any absence or tardiness of the child on such days. The parent or legal guardian not exercising actual physical custody or visitation on the day of the absence or tardiness shall not be in violation of this Section.

(2) In a nonpublic school, a student shall be considered habitually absent or tardy only when the student has been absent or tardy for more than five days within any month without approval of the parent or other person responsible for the student's school attendance and when the student's principal has filed a written report showing dates of absence or tardiness and dates and results of school contacts with the home.

C. If a student is less than eighteen years of age and is habitually absent or tardy as determined pursuant to this Section, the Department of Public Safety and Corrections may, upon notification from the school board, deny or suspend the driver's permit or license of the student in accordance with the provisions of R.S. 32:431.1.

D. For purposes of this Section, the term "tardy" shall include but not be limited to leaving or checking out of school unexcused prior to the regularly scheduled dismissal time at the end of the school day but shall not include reporting late to class when transferring from one class to another during the school day.

REGULATIONS

LAC 28:CXV.1103. Compulsory Attendance.

A. School systems operating alternative education sites must address the root cause of academic challenges while a student is educated at the alternative education school or program, utilizing evidence-based academic interventions and strategies.

1. Alternative education sites must:

a. utilize standards-aligned curriculum comparable to curriculum utilized at the sending school in the school system;

b. provide targeted instructional methods to aid student progress and academic achievement;

c. monitor student academic progress on a regular and frequent basis, including a review of academic work completed, noting any improvements from the time since the student was transferred to the site; and

d. meet targeted credit accumulation goals identified in LAC 28:XI.Chapter 35 (Bulletin 111), for students enrolled at the alternative education site for at least one semester. For high school students, the goals must include specific Carnegie credit goals.

LAC 28:CXV.1117. Child welfare and attendance.

A. Supervisors of child welfare and attendance and home-school coordinators shall give written notice, either in person or by registered mail, to the parent or guardian of a student within the compulsory school attendance age, when no valid reason is found for a student's nonenrollment or unexcused absence from school, requiring enrollment or attendance within three days from the date of notice.

B. Supervisors of child welfare and attendance shall receive the cooperation of all teachers and principals in the parish or city in which they are appointed to serve.

C. Each school shall, upon the request of the LEA where the school is located, state whether any individual student is enrolled in such school and whether such pupil is fulfilling the compulsory attendance requirements.

D. Any student who is a juvenile and who is habitually absent from school or is habitually tardy shall be reported by supervisors of child welfare and attendance to the family or juvenile court of the parish or city as a truant child, pursuant to the provisions of chapter 2 of title VII of the Louisiana Children's Code relative to families in need of services, there to be dealt with in such manner as the court may determine, either by placing the truant in a home or in a public or private institution where school may be provided for the child, or otherwise.

E. A student shall be considered habitually absent or habitually tardy when either condition continues to exist after all reasonable efforts by any school personnel, truancy officer, or other law enforcement personnel have failed to correct the condition after the fifth unexcused absence or fifth unexcused occurrence of being tardy within any school semester. The parent or legal guardian of a student shall enforce the attendance of the student at the school to which the student is assigned.

F. In those districts participating in an interagency agreement to operate a truancy and assessment service center and to the extent specified in said agreement, school boards and their systems in general will assist child welfare and attendance officers in creating student background data, including attendance records, unexcused absences, conduct violations, discipline records, report cards, and transcripts as permitted by law and families in need of services personnel will work in partnership with the child welfare and attendance officers to monitor client progress, file all petitions in the cases of noncompliance of the plan for court appearance, and coordinate other services.