ADMINISTRATIVE REGULATION - 5113.2

Attendance Monitoring and The Student Attendance Review Board (SARB)

Parents/guardians of children are welcome partners in improving the school attendance of their children. Trust and collaboration should be the objective in communicating and interacting with parents about school attendance problems. The Coordinator of Student Services and other staff responsible for supervising attendance shall use appropriate formal and informal school attendance notifications and shall facilitate open, honest, and blame-free discussions about school attendance before designating students as “habitual truants.”

The Coordinator of Student Services in coordination with the District’s Attendance Specialist will conduct full and impartial investigations of all school attendance complaints or referrals and may forward cases of persistent irregular attendance or habitual truancy to the SARB for a proper disposition. The Coordinator of Student Services will ensure that the SARB panel convenes monthly to review and take action upon student cases of irregular attendance, truancy, and behavioral issues. (EC 48262, 48263, 48290)

School attendance is a community concern, and The Coordinator of Student Services must collaborate with all appropriate agencies, including law enforcement agencies, as partners in the SARB process to meet the special needs of pupils with school attendance or school behavior problems. (EC 48262, 48263, 48291)

Duties of The Coordinator of Student Services and the District Attendance Specialist

The Coordinator of Student Services in coordination with the Attendance Specialist shall have the following duties of monitoring attendance, developing strategies for truancy reduction, and coordinating the School Attendance Review Board:

Attendance Monitoring

1. Act as a resource to school or District staff regarding attendance issues, and provide training, as necessary, related to record keeping for student attendance, early identification of truancy, and data collection for truancy rates, graduation rates, and dropout rates.
2. Collect, analyze, and report truancy data, graduation-rate data, and dropout data as ongoing activities for appropriate school, District, and county personnel to inform decisions about site-level, District-level, and county-level attendance and behavior interventions.
3. Maintain data on the successful transfer of students from and to alternative school programs, charter schools, and other schools in the District or County.
4. Provide an opportunity for parents or guardians to challenge the accuracy of attendance records that could impact the determination of grades, CalWORKS benefits, or involuntary transfers (EC 49070).
5. For students in private schools, verify that the students’ private schools have filed Private School Affidavits with the State Superintendent of Public Instruction. If a complaint or referral has been submitted regarding the attendance of a minor in a school that has filed a Private School Affidavit, investigate the case by analyzing the student’s private school attendance register. If the private school attendance record is not available or does not show regular school attendance during the days that the private school is maintained during the year, the student shall be referred to the SARB to determine the disposition of the case. (EC 48290, 48222, 48223, 48290, 48291)

Developing and Coordinating Strategies for Truancy Reduction

1. Coordinate truancy-prevention strategies based on the early identification of truancy, such as prompt notification of absences in the parents’ native language, selective approval of work permits, assignments of weekend school instruction, and counseling for truants.
2. Assist school or District staff to develop site attendance plans by providing youth development strategies, resources, and referral procedures. Explain District and county policies, regulations, and procedures.
3. Maintain an inventory of local alternative educational programs and community resources, and employ those programs and resources to meet the differential needs of students with school attendance or school behavior problems. Inform parents/guardians of truant students about alternative educational programs in the District to which the student may be assigned. (EC 48322)
4. Encourage and coordinate the adoption of attendance-incentive programs at school sites and in individual classrooms that reward and celebrate good attendance and significant improvements in attendance.
5. Coordinate site-level Student Success Teams (SSTs) or School Attendance Review Teams (SARTs) to reduce truancy and collect data on the outcomes of those meetings at each grade level.

SARB Responsibilities for Dropout Prevention

1. Review the school attendance record and other documentation to determine the adequacy of all cases referred to the SARB and to determine if special arrangements or experts will be needed for the meeting. If the case warrants the resources of the SARB panel, schedule a SARB meeting with the parent and the family. If the referral contains inadequate information or if appropriate school-level intervention has not been attempted, remand the case to the school for further work.
2. Ensure that SARB meetings maintain high expectations for all students, and ensure that families and youth are involved in selecting resources and services.
3. Refer students with attendance or behavior problems that cannot be resolved by the SARB to the appropriate agency, including law enforcement agencies when necessary. Also, refer parents or guardians who continually and willfully fail to respond to SARB directives or services provided to the appropriate agencies, including law enforcement agencies. (EC 48290)
4. Develop and submit follow-up reports to the SARB on all directives and agreements made at the SARB meetings, especially student agreements to attend school or improve school behavior.
5. Use age-appropriate habitual-truancy petitions to the courts when necessary, such as petitions to suspend or delay the driving privilege for students from 13 to 18 years of age. (Vehicle Code13202.7)
6. Collect data and report outcomes on SARB referrals as needed for the annual report to the County Superintendent of Schools, with copies forwarded to the District Superintendent and the Board. (EC 48273)

Policy 5113.2– SARB (School Attendance Review Board)

Related Policies:

5113 – Verification of Student Absences

5120 – Involuntary Student Transfers

5113.1 – Students Participating in Religious Exercises

EC 46010-46015 Absences

EC 48200-48341 Compulsory Education Laws

Vehicle Code:

13202.7 Driving Priveleges