Child Welfare and Attendance is a specialized student support service that covers compliance with compulsory education laws, student admission and enrollment procedures, student discipline procedures, transfers to alternative programs, and school climate and safety. Child welfare and attendance combines the knowledge and skill of counseling with knowledge of education and the law to resolve complicated situations involving school choice, student discipline, campus safety, and programs for high-risk youth.
Definition of Chronic Absentee
A "chronic absentee" has been defined in Education Code (EC) Section 60901(c)(1) as "a pupil who is absent on 10 percent or more of the school days in the school year when the total number of days a pupil is absent is divided by the total number of days the pupil is enrolled and school was actually taught in the regular day schools of the district, exclusive of Saturdays and Sundays."
Attendance Works
A national and state initiative that promotes awareness of the important role that school attendance plays in achieving academic success starting with school entry.
Make Everyday Count Toolkit
(PDF)
This toolkit from Attendance Works communicates the importance of regular school attendance to parents and students.
School Attendance
Improvement Strategies
Selected school attendance practices identified as having a positive
effect in encouraging students to regularly attend all their high
school classes.
Reporting Requirements for Severance of Attendance
Information on EC Section 48203,
which requires the superintendent of a school district or the principal of a private school to report the severance of attendance of children with exceptional needs or handicapped children.
Publications
School Attendance
Improvement Handbook (PDF)
The School Attendance Handbook provides strategies to improve school attendance.
Present, Engaged, and Accounted For
This document focuses on the critical importance of addressing chronic absence in the early grades.
Sample Forms
Sample forms are taken from Appendix A of the 2012 School Attendance Review Boards Handbook. Appreciation is extended to staff members of the San Juan Unified School District who permitted the California Department of Education to adapt and translate their Chronic Illness Verification Form for statewide use.
Chronic Illness Verification Sample Form (English) (DOC)
Available Translations of Chronic Illness Verification
Sample Form
The Chronic Illness Verification Sample Form allows parents to excuse absences due to a specific medical condition with the same authority as a medical professional.
