The purpose of this subdivision is to improve school attendance and deter truancy through a comprehensive approach to consistently identify and address attendance issues as early as possible with credible intervention techniques in order to:

When used in this article, the following words and phrases shall have the following meanings:

"Citation" shall mean a nontraffic citation or private criminal complaint.

"Compulsory school age" shall mean the period of a child's life from the time the child's parents elect to have the child enter school and which shall be no later than six (6) years of age until the child reaches eighteen (18) years of age. The term does not include a child who holds a certificate of graduation from a regularly accredited, licensed, registered or approved high school.

"Conviction" shall mean a conviction under section 1333.2 for violation of the requirement for compulsory school attendance.

"Court" shall mean a magisterial district court, the Philadelphia Municipal Court or a court of common pleas.

"Department" shall mean the Department of Education of the Commonwealth.

"Educational entity" shall mean a public school district, charter school, regional charter school, cyber charter school or area career and technical school.

"Excused absence" shall mean an absence from school which is permitted under section 1329.

"Governing body" shall mean the board of school directors of a school district or any other governing entity of a school.

"Habitually truant" shall mean six (6) or more school days of unexcused absences during the current school year by a child subject to compulsory school attendance under this article.

"Judge" shall mean a magisterial district judge, a municipal court judge or a judge of a court of common pleas.

"Juvenile act" shall mean the provisions of 42 Pa.C.S. Ch. 63 (relating to juvenile matters).

"Migratory child" shall mean a child domiciled temporarily in a school district for the purpose of seasonal employment, but not acquiring residence therein, and a child accompanying his or her person in parental relation who is so domiciled.

"Offense" shall mean each citation filed under section 1333.1 for a violation of the requirement for compulsory school attendance under this article regardless of the number of unexcused absences alleged in the citation.

"Person in parental relation" shall mean a:

This definition shall not include any county agency or person acting as an agent of the county agency in the jurisdiction of a dependent child defined under 42 Pa.C.S. § 6302 (relating to definitions). This definition shall not expand the right of a child under any other section of this act.

"School" shall mean the educational entity in which the child is enrolled.

"School attendance improvement conference" shall mean a conference where the child's absences and reasons for the absences are examined in an effort to improve attendance, with or without additional services. The following individuals shall be invited to the conference:

"School day" shall mean the length of time that a child subject to compulsory school attendance is expected to be receiving instruction during a calendar day, as determined by the governing body.

"School year" shall have the same meaning as "school term" as defined in section 102, as applicable to a school district, and as further defined in section 1327(b) for a day school which is operated by a bona fide church or other religious body, section 1327.1(c) for a day school or boarding school accredited by an accrediting association which is approved by the State Board of Education, section 1327.1(d) for a home education program, sections 1501 and 1504 for a public school or a school district, section 1715-A(9) for a charter school, section 1749-A(a)(1) for a cyber charter school and section 1718-A(c) for a regional charter school.

"School-based or community-based attendance improvement program" shall mean a program designed to improve school attendance by seeking to identify and address the underlying reasons for a child's absences. The term may include an educational assignment in an alternative education program, provided the program does not include a program for disruptive youth established pursuant to Article XIX-C.

"Truant" shall mean having incurred three (3) or more school days of unexcused absences during the current school year by a child subject to compulsory school attendance under this article.

"Unexcused absence" shall mean an absence from school which is not permitted by the provisions of section 1329 and for which an approved explanation has not been submitted within the time period and in the manner prescribed by the governing body. An out-of-school suspension may not be considered an unexcused absence.

(a) Except as hereinafter provided, every child of compulsory school age having a legal residence in this Commonwealth, as provided in this article, and every migratory child of compulsory school age, is required to attend a day school in which the subjects and activities prescribed by the standards of the State Board of Education are taught in the English language. In lieu of such school attendance, any child fifteen years of age with the approval of the district superintendent and the approval of the Secretary of Education, and any child sixteen years of age with the approval of the district superintendent of schools, may enroll as a day student in a private trade school or in a private business school licensed by the Department of Education, or in a trade or business school, or department operated by a local school district or districts. Such modified program offered in a public school must meet the standards prescribed by the State Board of Education or the State Board of Career and Technical Education. Except as hereinafter provided, every parent, guardian, or other person having control or charge of any child or children of compulsory school age is required to send such child or children to a day school in which the subjects and activities prescribed by the standards of the State Board of Education are taught in the English language. Such parent, guardian, or other person having control or charge of any child or children, fifteen or sixteen years of age, in accordance with the provisions of this act, may send such child or children to a private trade school or private business school licensed by the Department of Education, or to a trade or business school, or department operated by a local school district or districts. Such modified program offered in a public school must meet the standards prescribed by the State Board of Education or the State Board of Career and Technical Education. Such child or children shall attend such school continuously through the entire term, during which the public schools in their respective districts shall be in session, or in cases of children of migrant laborers during the time the schools are in session in the districts in which such children are temporarily domiciled. The financial responsibility for the education of such children of migrant laborers shall remain with the school district in which such children of migrant laborers are temporarily domiciled; except in the case of special schools or classes conducted by an intermediate unit and approved by the Department of Education or conducted by the Department of Education. The certificate of any principal or teacher of a private school, or of any institution for the education of children, in which the subjects and activities prescribed by the standards of the State Board of Education are taught in the English language, setting forth that the work of said school is in compliance with the provisions of this act, shall be sufficient and satisfactory evidence thereof. Regular daily instruction in the English language, for the time herein required, by a properly qualified private tutor, shall be considered as complying with the provisions of this section. For the purposes of this section, "properly qualified private tutor" shall mean a person who is certified by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania to teach in the public schools of Pennsylvania; who is teaching one or more children who are members of a single family; who provides the majority of the instruction to such child or children; and who is receiving a fee or other consideration for such instructional services. No person who would be disqualified from school employment by the provisions of subsection (e) of section 111 may be a private tutor, as provided for in this section. The private tutor must file a copy of his Pennsylvania certification and the required criminal history record with the student's district of residence superintendent.

(b) A child enrolled in a day school which is operated by a bona fide church or other religious body, and the parent, guardian or other person having control or charge of any such child or children of compulsory school age shall be deemed to have met the requirements of this section if that school provides a minimum of one hundred eighty (180) days of instruction or nine hundred (900) hours of instruction per year at the elementary level or nine hundred ninety (990) hours per year of instruction at the secondary level and:

The requirements contained in sections 1511 and 1605 of this act shall not apply to such schools. The notarized affidavit of the principal of any such school, filed with the Department of Education and setting forth that such subjects are offered in the English language in such school, whether it is a nonprofit organization, and that such school is otherwise in compliance with the provisions of this act, shall be satisfactory and sufficient evidence thereof. It is the policy of the Commonwealth to preserve the primary right and the obligation of the parent or parents, or person or persons in loco parentis to a child, to choose the education and training for such child. Nothing contained in this act shall empower the Commonwealth, any of its officers, agencies or subdivisions to approve the course content, faculty, staff or disciplinary requirements of any religious school referred to in this section without the consent of said school.

(c) A child enrolled in a day or boarding school accredited by an accrediting association which is approved by the State Board of Education, and the parent, guardian or other person having designated control or charge of any child or children of compulsory school age shall be deemed to have met the requirements of subsection (a).

(d) Instruction to children of compulsory school age provided in a home education program, as provided for in section 1327.1 of this act, shall be considered as complying with the provisions of this section, except that any student who has been identified pursuant to the provisions of the Education of the Handicapped Act (Public Law 91-230, 20 U.S.C. § 1401 et seq.) as needing special education services, excluding those students identified as gifted and/or talented, shall be in compliance with the requirements of compulsory attendance by participating in a home education program, as defined in section 1327.1, when the program addresses the specific needs of the exceptional student and is approved by a teacher with a valid certificate from the Commonwealth to teach special education or a licensed clinical or certified school psychologist, and written notification of such approval is submitted with the notarized affidavit required under section 1327.1(b). The supervisor of a home education program may request that the school district or intermediate unit of residence provide services that address the specific needs of the exceptional student in the home education program. When the provision of services is agreed to by both the supervisor and the school district or intermediate unit, all services shall be provided in the public schools or in a private school licensed to provide such programs and services.

(a) Each charter, regional charter and cyber charter school shall establish an attendance policy designed to accurately determine when a child who is enrolled in a charter, regional charter or cyber charter school has an unexcused absence, which may differ from the policy of the school district in which the child resides. The policy must conform to the provisions of this act relating to compulsory attendance.

(b) Notwithstanding section 1333.2(a), in the case of a child enrolled in a cyber charter school the venue for the filing of a citation under section 1333.1 shall be based upon the residence of the child. A cyber charter school may participate in a proceeding under sections 1333.1, 1333.2 and 1333.3 in person, by phone conferencing, by video conferencing or by any other electronic means.

(c) Charter, regional charter and cyber charter schools shall report unexcused absences directly to the department annually through the Pennsylvania Information Management System (PIMS).

Every principal or teacher in every public school, and every principal, teacher or tutor in every school other than a public school, and in every institution for children, and every private teacher in every school district, shall, immediately after their admission to such school or institution, or at the beginning of such private teaching, furnish to the district superintendents, attendance officers, home and school visitors, or secretaries of the boards of school directors of the districts wherein the parents or guardians of such children reside, lists of the names and residences of all children between six (6) and eighteen (18) years of age enrolled in such school or institution, or taught by such private teacher; and shall further report at once to such district superintendent, or secretary of the board of school directors, the name and date of withdrawal of any such pupil withdrawing from any such school or institution, or from such private instruction, if such withdrawal occurs during the period of compulsory attendance in said district. Every principal or teacher in a school other than a public school, and every private teacher, shall also report at once to the superintendent, attendance officer, home and school visitor, or secretary of the board of school directors of the district, any such child who has been absent three (3) days, or their equivalent, during the term of compulsory attendance, without lawful excuse.

(a) When a child is truant, the school shall notify in writing the person in parental relation with the child who resides in the same household as the child of the child's violation of compulsory school attendance within ten (10) school days of the child's third unexcused absence. The notice:

(b) If the child continues to incur unexcused absences after the school has issued the notice under subsection (a), the school shall then offer by advance written notice a school attendance improvement conference to the child and the person in parental relation, unless a conference was previously held following the notice provided under subsection (a). The following shall apply:

(c) Schools shall not expel or impose out-of-school suspension, disciplinary reassignment or transfer for truant behavior.

(d) Nothing in this section shall be construed to apply to a parent, guardian or person in parental relation whose child or children are in a home education program under section 1327.1.

(a) When a child is habitually truant and under fifteen (15) years of age at the time of referral, the school:

(b) When a child is habitually truant and fifteen (15) years of age or older at the time of referral, the school shall either:

(c) If a child who is fifteen (15) years of age or older continues to incur additional unexcused absences after being referred to a school-based or community-based attendance improvement program or refuses to participate in a school-based or community-based attendance improvement program as recommended through the school attendance improvement conference, the school may refer the child to the county children and youth agency for possible disposition as a dependent child under the provisions of 42 Pa.C.S. Ch. 63.

(d) When referring a habitually truant child to the county children and youth agency or filing a citation with the court because a child has been habitually truant, the school shall provide verification that a school attendance improvement conference was held.

(e) Nothing in this section shall be construed to apply to a parent, guardian or person in parental relation whose child or children are in a home education program under section 1327.1.

(a) The venue for the filing of a citation under section 1333.1 shall be based on the location of the school in which the child is enrolled or shall be enrolled except where section 1327.2(b) applies.

(b) When a citation is filed against a child or a person in parental relation who resides in the same household as the child under the provisions of section 1333.1, the judge shall provide the following notices:

(c) At the hearing with respect to the citation, the burden is on the school to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that, while subject to compulsory school attendance, the child was habitually and without justification truant from school.

(d) It shall be an affirmative defense to a citation filed under this subdivision of this article against a person in parental relation to the child who resides in the same household as the child if the person in parental relation to the child who resides in the same household as the child took every reasonable step to ensure attendance of the child at school.

(e) An affirmative defense under subsection (d) must be proven by a preponderance of the evidence.

(f) The court shall determine whether the evidence has established that a child or person in parental relation has violated the compulsory school attendance requirements of this article and shall enter that verdict on the record.

(g) The school shall, to the extent possible, inform the court of any prior conviction of the child or person in parental relation who resides in the same household as the child for a violation of the compulsory school attendance requirement of this article.

(h) Before entering a sentence the judge shall permit the school, person in parental relation or child to present relevant information that will assist the judge in making an informed decision regarding the appropriate sentence. The child's school attendance after the citation has been filed and while the proceeding is pending may be considered for the purpose of imposing a sentence.

(a) When a child is truant, the school shall notify in writing the person in parental relation with the child who resides in the same household as the child of the child's violation of compulsory school attendance within ten (10) school days of the child's third unexcused absence. The notice:

(b) If the child continues to incur unexcused absences after the school has issued the notice under subsection (a), the school shall then offer by advance written notice a school attendance improvement conference to the child and the person in parental relation, unless a conference was previously held following the notice provided under subsection (a). The following shall apply:

(c) Schools shall not expel or impose out-of-school suspension, disciplinary reassignment or transfer for truant behavior.

(d) Nothing in this section shall be construed to apply to a parent, guardian or person in parental relation whose child or children are in a home education program under section 1327.1.

a) Five (5) years after commencement of the first school year to which section 1333 applies, the Joint State Government Commission shall undertake a study of the procedures for how a school handles children who are truant and habitually truant and evaluate the effectiveness of the procedures in improving school attendance and whether the procedures should be revised, including to require court involvement sooner in certain truancy cases.

(b) The Joint State Government Commission shall establish an advisory committee that may include representatives of the Department of Education, educational entities and organizations, the judiciary, district attorneys, law enforcement, public organizations involved in truancy issues, representatives of county children and youth agencies and juvenile justice agencies and other organizations selected by the Joint State Government Commission to consult with the Joint State Government Commission in conducting the study.

(c) The Joint State Government Commission shall hold informational meetings to receive testimony from professionals or organizations with expertise in truancy and truancy prevention.

(d) The Joint State Government Commission shall issue a report of its findings and recommendations to the Education Committee of the Senate and the Education Committee of the House of Representatives not later than twelve (12) months after undertaking the study.

In case any child of compulsory school age cannot be kept in school in compliance with the provisions of this act, on account of incorrigibility, truancy, insubordination, or other bad conduct, or if the presence of any child attending school is detrimental to the welfare of such school, on account of incorrigibility, truancy, insubordination, or other bad conduct, the board of school directors may, by its superintendent, secretary, attendance officer or State, municipal, port authority, transit authority or housing authority police officer, under such rules and regulations as the board may adopt, proceed against said child before the juvenile court, or otherwise, as is now or may hereafter be provided by law for incorrigible, truant, insubordinate, or dependent children.

Every school district shall report to the Superintendent of Public Instruction upon the enforcement of the provisions for compulsory attendance and the cost thereof, in such detail as said Superintendent of Public Instruction shall request.

(a) The board of school directors of every school district of the first, second, or third class, shall, and in any school district of the fourth class may, employ one or more persons to be known as attendance officers, or home and school visitors, whose duties shall be to enforce the provisions of this act regarding compulsory attendance. Such attendance officers, or home and school visitors, shall, in addition to the duties imposed upon them by the provisions of this act, have full police power without warrant, and may arrest or apprehend any child who fails to attend school in compliance with the provisions of this act, or who is incorrigible, insubordinate, or disorderly during attendance at school or on his way to or from school. All home and school visitors shall be legally certified as such by the Department of Education, upon meeting such standards as shall be prescribed by the State Board of Education.

(b) Any two or more school districts may join in the appointment of an attendance officer on such terms as they may mutually agree upon.

(c) State, municipal, port authority, transit authority, housing authority and school police officers shall have the same arrest powers as attendance officers or home and school visitors.

Attendance officers or home and school visitors may be employed for the full calendar year, and shall be paid such amounts and in such manner as the board of school directors appointing them may decide. The shall at all times perform the duties of their appointment under the direction of the board of school directors appointing them.

In districts of the first class the minimum salaries of attendance officers and home and school visitors in elementary schools shall be: Minimum annual salary, one thousand two hundred dollars ($1200); minimum annual increment, one hundred dollars ($100); minimum number of increments, ten (10). No school district of the first class shall reduce the compensation of any attendance officer below that paid on the second day of July, one thousand nine hundred thirty-seven.

When an attendance officer or a State, municipal, port authority, transit authority, housing authority or school police officer arrests or apprehends any child who fails to attend school as required by the provisions of this act, he shall promptly notify the parents, guardian, or person in parental relation to such child, if such person can be found in the district, and unless requested by such parent, guardian, or person in parental relation to place said child in a school other than public school, he shall place said child in the public school in which the child is, or should be, enrolled.

Attendance officers shall have full power and authority to enter, during business hours, any place where any children are employed, to ascertain whether or not any child is engaged therein that should attend school as herein provided, and such attendance officer shall have the right to demand and inspect the employment certificate of any child engaged therein.

Any officer, director, superintendent, manager, employe, or other person, at any place where any child of compulsory school age is engaged, who refuses to permit, or in any way interferes with, the entrance therein of the attendance officer, any member of the board of school directors, the secretary thereof, or the district superintendent of any school district, as provided for in this act, shall, on summary conviction thereof, be sentenced to pay a fine of not less than five dollars ($5) or more than twenty-five dollars ($25), and in default thereof he may be sentenced to imprisonment not exceeding thirty (30) days. Any person sentenced to pay any such fine may, upon giving proper surety in double the amount of penalty and costs, at any time within five (5) days thereafter, appeal to the court of quarter sessions of the proper county.

(a) Each school board shall adopt written policies concerning district child accounting, attendance, admission, excusal and program procedures as necessary to implement this chapter. The policies shall be a matter of public record.

(b) Each school board shall adopt, and distribute yearly to parents, written rules governing student admissions, attendance, absences and excusals, that are in conformity with this chapter.

(c) Each school board shall adopt a written policy permitting students to be excused for participation in agricultural fairs in conformity with section 1329(b) of the Public School Code of 1949 (24 P. S. § 13-1329.(b)).

(a) All persons residing in this Commonwealth between the ages of 6 and 21 years are entitled to a free and full education in the Commonwealth's public schools.

(b) Parents or guardians of all children between the ages of 8 and 17 are required by the compulsory attendance law to ensure that their children attend an approved educational institution, unless legally excused. Students who have not graduated may not be asked to leave school merely because they have reached 17 years of age if they are fulfilling their responsibilities as students. A student may not be excluded from the public schools or from extracurricular activities because: