Maine School
Administrative District #31
TRUANCY
TRUANCY
DEFINED
A
student is truant if he/she is required to attend school or
alternative instruction under Maine compulsory attendance law (20-A
MRSA § 5001-A) and he/she:
A. Has
completed grade 6 and has the equivalent of 10 full days of unexcused
absences or 7 consecutive school days of unexcused absences during a
school year; or
B. Is
at least 7 years of age and has not completed grade 6 and has the
equivalent of 7 full days of unexcused absences or 5 consecutive
school days of unexcused absences during a school year.
ATTENDANCE
COORDINATORS
In
accordance with Maine law, the Superintendent shall appoint one or
more attendance coordinators. The duties of the attendance
coordinator include, but are not limited to:
A. Interviewing
a student whose attendance is irregular and meeting with the student
and the parents to determine the cause of the irregular attendance
and filing a written report with the principal;
B. Filing
an annual report with the Superintendent summarizing school year
activities, findings and recommendations regarding truants;
C. Serving
as a member of the dropout prevention committee; and
D. Serving
as the liaison between the school and the local law enforcement
agency in matters pertaining to student absenteeism under Maine law.
TRUANCY
PROCEDURES
As
required by law, the following procedure shall be followed when a
student is truant.
A. The
principal, upon determining that a student is truant, shall notify
the Superintendent of the student’s truancy within five school days
of the last unexcused absence.
B. Within
in five school days of notification, the Superintendent/designee will
refer the student who has been determined to be truant to the
school’s student assistance team.
C. The
student assistance team will meet to determine the cause of the
truancy and assess the effect of the student’s absences, as well as
any future absences for the student. If it is determined that a
negative effect exists, the student assistance team shall develop an
intervention plan to address the student’s absences and the
negative effect of these absences.
An
intervention plan may include, but is not limited to:
1. Frequent
communication between the teacher and the family;
2. Changes
in the learning environment;
3. Mentoring;
4. Student
counseling;
5. Tutoring,
including peer tutoring;
6. Placement
into different classes;
7. Evaluation
for alternative education programs;
8. Attendance
contracts;
9. Referral
to other agencies for family services; and
10. Other
interventions including but not limited to referral to the school
attendance coordinator, student assistance team, or dropout
prevention committee.
Failure
of the student or the student’s parent(s) to appear at scheduled
meetings does not preclude school administrators from implementing a
plan to address a student’s truancy.
D. The
student and his/her parents/guardians shall be invited to attend any
meetings scheduled to discuss the student’s truancy and the
intervention plan.
E. If
the Superintendent/designee is unable to correct the student’s
truancy, the Superintendent/designee shall serve or cause to be
served upon the parent(s) in-hand or by registered mail a written
notice that the student’s attendance is required by law. The
notice shall:
1. State
that the student is required to attend school pursuant to 20-A
MRSA
§5001-A (the compulsory attendance law);
2. Explain
the parent’s right to inspect the student’s attendance records,
attendance coordinator’s reports, and principal’s reports;
3. Explain
that the failure to send the student to school and maintain the
student in regular attendance is a civil violation in accordance with
20-A MRSA § 5053-A and will jeopardize the student’s status in the
grade he/she is in;
4. State
that the Superintendent/designee may notify local law enforcement
authorities of a violation of 20-A MRSA § 5053-A and the Department
of Health and Human Services (DHHS) of a violation under and 20-A
MRSA § 5051-A(1)(C); and
5. Outline
the plan developed to address the student’s truancy and the steps
that have been taken to implement that plan.
F. Prior
to notifying local law enforcement authorities, the Superintendent/
designee shall schedule at least one meeting of the student
assistance team as required by law and paragraph B of this policy and
may invite a local prosecutor.
G. If
after three school days after the service of the notice described in
paragraph E of this policy the student remains truant and the
parent(s) and student refuse to attend the meeting referred to in
paragraph F, the Superintendent/designee shall report the facts of
the unlawful absence to local law enforcement authorities. Local law
enforcement may proceed with enforcement action against the parent
unless the student is at once placed in an appropriate school or
otherwise meets the requirements of the compulsory attendance law.
H. When
a student is determined to be truant and in violation of the
compulsory attendance law, and the student assistance team has made a
good faith attempt to meet the requirements, the Superintendent shall
notify the Board of the student’s truancy.
ANNUAL
REPORT TO COMMISSIONER
The
Superintendent shall submit an annual report regarding truancy to the
Commissioner by October 1. The report must identify the number of
truants in the school administrative unit in the preceding school
year; describe the school unit’s efforts to deal with truancy;
account for actions brought to enforce the truancy law; and include
any other information on truancy requested by the Commissioner.
Legal
Reference: 20-A MRSA §§ 5001-A; 5051-A-5054-A
22
MRSA § 4002
Cross
Reference: JEA – Compulsory Attendance
JFC
– Dropout Prevention—Student Withdrawal from School
JLF
– Reporting Child Abuse and Neglect
First
Reading: 03/21/2018
Second
Reading: 04/24/2018