Series 5000: Students

5113 Attendance/Excuses/Dismissal

Attendance 

Connecticut state law requires parents to cause their children, ages five through eighteen inclusive,  to attend school regularly during the hours and terms the public school is in session. Parents or  guardian of a child five years of age have the option of not sending the child to school until ages six  or seven. Mandatory attendance terminates upon graduation or withdrawal with written  parent/guardian consent at age seventeen. 

A student is considered to be “in attendance” if present at his/her assigned school, or an activity  sponsored by the school (e.g., field trip), for at least half of the regular school day. A student who is  serving an out-of-school suspension or expulsion should always be considered absent. A student not  meeting the definition of “in attendance” shall be considered absent. 

Classroom learning experiences are the basis for public school education. Time lost from class is  lost instructional opportunity. The Board of Education requires that accurate records be kept of the  attendance of each child, and students should not be absent from school without parental  knowledge and consent. 

Definitions (related to chronic absenteeism) 

Chronically absent child: An enrolled student whose total number of absences at any time during  a school year is equal to or greater than ten percent of the total number of days that such student  has been enrolled at such school during such school year. 

Absence: An excused absence, unexcused absence or disciplinary absence, as those terms are  defined by the State Board of Education or an in-school suspension that is greater than or equal to  one-half of a school day. 

District chronic absenteeism rate: The total number of chronically absent children in the previous school year divided by the total number of children under the jurisdiction of the Board of  Education for such school year. 

School chronic absenteeism rate: The total number of chronically absent children for a school  in the previous school year divided by the total number of children enrolled in such school for such school year. 

Excuses 

A student’s absence from school shall be considered “excused” if written documentation of the  reason for such absence has been submitted within ten (10) school days of the student’s return to  school and meets the following criteria:

A. For absences one through nine, a student’s absences from school are considered “excused” when the student’s parent/guardian approves such absence and submits appropriate documentation to school officials. 

A student’s engagement in remote classes, remote meetings, activities on time-logged electronic systems, and completion and submission of assignments, if such engagement accounts for not less than one-half of the school day during remote learning is excluded from the definitions of “excused absence” and “unexcused absence.” 

Absence resulting from a student enrolled in grades K-12, taking two mental health days during the school year. Such absence is to permit the student to attend to his/her emotional and psychological well-being in lieu of attending school. 

The student shall not be required to present documentation or parental/guardian consent. For purposes of school year limitation, such absence shall be identified as a “mental health wellness day.” 

A student cannot take these mental health days during consecutive school days. 

Such documentation includes a signed note from the student’s parent/guardian, a signed note from a school official that spoke in person with the parent/guardian regarding the absence, or a note confirming the absence by the school nurse or by a licensed medical professional, as appropriate. Documentation should explain the nature of and the reason for the absence as well as the length of the absence. Separate documentation must be submitted for each incidence of absenteeism. 

B. For the tenth absence and all absences thereafter, a student’s absences from school are considered excused for the following reasons: 

1. Student illness (must be verified by a licensed medical professional to be deemed excused, regardless of the length of the absence); 

2. Student’s observance of a religious holiday; 

3. Death in the student’s family; 

4. Mandated court appearances (documentation required); 

5. Extraordinary educational opportunities pre-approved by District administration and to be in accordance with Connecticut State Department of Education guidance.

C. A student’s absence from school shall be considered unexcused unless: 

1. The absence meets the definition of an excused absence and meets the documentation requirements; or 

2. The absence meets the definition of a disciplinary absence, which is the result of school or District disciplinary action and are excluded from these State Board of Education approved definitions. 

When the school in which a child is enrolled receives no notification from a parent or guardian of the child is aware of the child’s absence, a reasonable effort shall be made by school personnel or  volunteers under the direction of school personnel to notify by telephone and by mail such parent or  other person having control of the child. 

The required mailed notice shall include a warning that two unexcused absences from school in one  month or five unexcused absences in a school year may result in a complaint filed with the Superior  Court alleging the belief that the acts or omissions of the child are such that the child’s family is a  family with service needs. 

Responsibility for completion of missed classwork lies with the student, not the teacher. Unless a student has an extended illness, all make-up work will be complete within five days after the  student returns to school. 

Excused Absences for Children of Service Members 

An enrolled student, age five to eighteen, inclusive, whose parent or legal guardian is an active  duty member of the armed forces, as defined in section 27-103, and has been called to duty for, is  on leave from, or has immediately returned from deployment to a combat zone or combat support  posting, shall be granted ten days of excused absences in any school year and, at the discretion of the Board of Education, additional excused absences to visit such child’s parent or legal guardian  with respect to such leave or deployment of the parent or legal guardian. In the case of such excused  absences such child and parent or legal guardian shall be responsible to obtaining assignments  from the student’s teacher prior to any period of excused absence, and for ensuring that such  assignments are completed by such child prior to his or her return to school from such period of excused absence.

Chronic Absenteeism 

The Board of Education, in compliance with statute, requires the establishment of attendance  review teams when chronic absenteeism rates in the District or at individual schools in the District  meet the following circumstances: 

1. A team for the District must be established when the District chronic absenteeism rate is 10 percent or higher. 

2. A team for the school must be established when the school chronic absenteeism rate is 15 percent or higher. 

3. A team for either the District or each school must be established when (a) more than one school in the District has a school chronic absenteeism rate of 15 percent or higher or (b) a District has a District chronic absenteeism rate of 10 percent or higher and one or more schools in the District have a school chronic absenteeism rate of 15 percent or higher. 

The membership of attendance review teams may consist of school administrators, guidance  counselors, school social workers, teachers, chronically absent children, parents or guardians of  chronically absent children, and representatives from community-based programs who address  issues related to student attendance by providing programs and services to truants. 

Each attendance review team shall be responsible for reviewing the cases of truants and chronically  absent children, discussing school interventions and community referrals for such truants and  chronically absent children and making any additional recommendations for such truants and  chronically absent children and their parents or guardians. Each established attendance review  team shall meet at least monthly. 

In the calculation of the District’s chronic absenteeism rate and the school chronic absenteeism  rate, a student’s engagement, in grades 9-12, in remote virtual learning shall be excluded if such  engagement accounts for not less than one-half of the school day. In addition, the calculation of  chronic absenteeism rates shall exclude absence resulting from a student taking a mental health day pursuant to P.A. 21-46. 

The District shall utilize the chronic absenteeism prevention and intervention plan developed by the State Department of Education when it becomes available. 

The District shall annually include in information for the strategic school profile report for each  school and the District that is submitted to the Commissioner of Education, data pertaining to  truancy and chronically absent children.

The School Principal or his/her designee of any elementary or middle school located in a town/city  designated as an alliance district may refer to the children’s truancy clinic established by the Probate  Court serving the town/city, a parent/guardian with a child defined as a truant or who is at risk of  becoming a truant. (A police officer shall deliver the citation and summons and a copy of the  referral to the parent/guardian.) 

Dismissal 

No school, grade, or class may be dismissed before the regularly scheduled dismissal time without  the approval of the Superintendent or his/her designee. 

No teacher may permit any individual student to leave school prior to the regular hour of dismissal  without the permission of the School Principal. 

No student may be permitted to leave school at any time other than at regular dismissal without the  approval of the student’s parent/guardian. If a court official with legal permission to take custody  of a child, or if a police officer arrests a student, the parent/guardian should be notified of these  situations by the administration. 

(cf. 5142 - Student Safety) 

(cf. 5113.2 - Truancy) 

(cf. 6113 - Released Time)

Legal Reference:

Connecticut General Statutes 

10-220(c) Duties of boards of education (as amended by PA 15-225) 

10-184 Duties of parents (as amended by PA 98-243 and PA 00-157) 

10-185 Penalty 

10-198a Policies and procedures concerning truants (as amended by PA11- 136, An Act Concerning Minor Revisions to the Education Statutes and PA 14-198, An Act Concerning Excused Absences from School for Children of Service Members.) 

45a-8c Truancy clinic. Administration. Policies and procedures. Report.  (as amended by PA 15-225) 

PA 15-225 An Act Concerning Chronic Absenteeism 

10-199 through 10-202 Attendance, truancy - in general 

Action taken by State Board of Education on January 2, 2008, to define  “attendance.” 

Action taken by State Board of Education on June 27, 2012, to define  “excused” and “unexcused” absences. 

PA 21-46 An Act Concerning Social Equity and the Health, Safety and 

Education of Children 

Policy adopted: April 11, 2022 THOMASTON PUBLIC SCHOOLS  Thomaston, Connecticut