Compulsory Attendance

• 22.1-254 of the Code of Virginia – Compulsory Attendance.

Except as otherwise provided in this article, every parent, guardian, or other person in the Commonwealth having control or charge of any child who will have reached the fifth birthday on or before September 30 of any school year and who has not passed the eighteenth birthday shall, during the period of each year the public schools are in session and for the same number of days and hours per day as the public schools, send such child to a public school or to a private, denominational, or parochial school or have such child taught by a tutor or teacher of qualifications prescribed by the Board of Education and approved by the division superintendent, or provide for home instruction of such child as described in § 22.1-254.1.

A. It is the legal responsibility of parents or guardians to ensure that students arrive at school on time and attend all assigned classes every day. Parents or guardians should contact the school if their child is going to be absent. A student who is absent from school for an entire day, or for one or more class periods, must bring a note written and signed by a parent or guardian upon returning to school. The note shall contain the reason(s) for and the date(s) of the absence(s). The principal will be the judge of the validity of any excuse. Parent notes verify absences but do not “excuse” absences. See “D” for clarification.

B. Parents are encouraged to call the school on any day that their child will be absent. Parents who do not call the school should provide school personnel with documentation that they were aware of and support the child’s absence.

C. According to state regulations, the attendance office will notify the local department of social services of children who are truant who are recipients of Aid to Dependent Children support. To promote attendance, teachers may wish to provide positive incentives for attendance.

D. Excused absences are defined as death in the immediate family (those residing in your household), a subpoenaed court appearance, or a doctor’s excuse. Furthermore, any student who is sent home by a school nurse because of illness will be given an excused absence for the remainder of the school day. Court appearance notices must be signed by a clerk of the court and doctor’s notes must be signed by an employee of the doctor’s office.

E. Students are expected to attend all assigned classes every day. Student are not to leave the building without permission. Students who leave the school grounds during the school day before their usual dismissal time must first have parental permission and approval from the administration.

F. Students are considered present when participating in field trips and other functions sanctioned by the school. Middle and high school students must be physically present for at least fifty percent (50%) of a class period in order to be counted present for that class.

G. Responsibility for make-up work lies with the student. Arrangements for make-up work must be completed within three (3) days after returning to school. Students who skip a class may be required to complete makeup work; however, the student may not receive full credit for the completion of such work. This will not apply to assignments such as unit tests, term papers, or other long-term projects which extend beyond the day(s) the student skipped class.

H. When a student accumulates the equivalent of twenty (20) absences during a school year not attributable to excused or verified reasons, the principal or designee is required to consider grade retention. The student may not be eligible for credit (after nine unexcused absences in a semester for high school students) or promotion if the student accumulates twenty unexcused absences.

I. In Addition to Policy JED, any student who accumulates (5) unexcused absences in a class, in one grading semester, shall lose credit for the class in which five (5) unexcused absences have occurred. Each semester is comprised of ninety (90) days of instruction/eighteen (18) weeks of instruction. With the exception of school sponsored activities, or absences prearranged with the principal or designee, all absences which occur and are not listed as an excused absence in School Board Policy JED, are considered unexcused absences. In an attempt to consider other extenuating circumstances, Henry County high school students are allowed to appeal the loss of credit due to unexcused absences to the principal. Appeals will be accepted at the end of each semester. All appeals must be submitted no later than five (5) business days prior to the end of the semester. Appeals will not be accepted for students with a total of nine (9) unexcused days in a semester, however discretion may be used by the principal for extenuating circumstances.

J.  Each school monitors student attendance on a daily basis and notifies parents when a student is absent. When a child accumulates five unexcused absences, a school official is compelled by §22.1-258 of the Code of Virginia to attempt to have direct contact with the student’s parent or guardian to determine  whether the parent is knowledgeable of the absences and jointly develop a plan to minimize further absenteeism. The school officials are also seeking at this point to obtain legitimate excuse notices for the absences. When a child has a seventh unexcused absence, the school is compelled to invite the parent or guardian to an attendance conference. The attendance conference is an opportunity to discuss the reasons for the absenteeism (review the attendance plan) and to put into place provisions if the absenteeism is expected to continue.

At the attendance conference, whether the parent/guardian participates or not, provisions are put in place to allow school officials to make a referral to the attendance officer if the parent is intentionally non-compliant. The attendance officer shall schedule a conference with the pupil and his parent within 10 school days and may (i) file a complaint with the juvenile and domestic relations district court alleging the pupil is a child in need of supervision as defined in § 16.1-228 or (ii) institute proceedings against the parent pursuant to § 18.2-371 or 22.1-262. In filing a complaint against the student, the attendance officer shall provide written documentation of the efforts to comply with the provisions of this section. School officials exercise discretion in these matters and generally file complaints only when the student’s attendance is not improving.

K.  Parents or guardians must seek homebound instruction for their children when they are absent or extended periods of illness. All requests for homebound services must have a medical authorization, and not all requests will be accommodated.

L. Students who miss 15 consecutive days of school will be withdrawn from the school and must re-enroll upon their return.

M. Students must have permission to be out of class and have a responsibility to arrive at class on time. Students who are in attendance are expected to be in class unless given express permission to be in a specific alternate location.

Exceptions to Compulsory Attendance

The following list represents alternate ways to meet the standard for compulsory attendance. Each of these alternatives has a procedure that must be approved by either the Henry County School Board or the Director of Student Support Services.

• Homebound instruction for medical leaves or as an alternative placement (see page 42)
• Home Instruction or Homeschooling
• Religious Exemptions from compulsory attendance
• Individualized Student Alternative Education Program (ISAEP) / GED preparatory program

Full text of this code section is available at law.lis.virginia.gov.