The Burlington Community School District is committed to ensuring that every reasonable attempt be made to secure the attendance in school of all children residing in the district, and particularly those of compulsory attendance age. To that end, the superintendent, in conjunction with the building principals, is directed to cooperate with the county attorney, officials of private schools in the district, and other relevant agencies, to enforce the state law of compulsory school attendance.
Children between the ages of six and sixteen, as of September 15, residing in the Burlington Community School District are required to be enrolled in and attending an Iowa accredited public or private school, or receiving competent private instruction pursuant to state law, Iowa Code §299.1A. Children of compulsory attendance age, kindergarten children age 5, and preschool children age 4 (see 501.10R2) who are enrolled in the Burlington Community School District, shall attend school for at least (174) days per school year, unless excused under the terms of the district’s attendance policy, Iowa Code §299.1.
Truancy shall be defined as failure to attend school without reasonable excuse for the absence, Iowa Code §299.8. Legitimate reasons for absence will be illness, medical appointments (when they do not interfere with the student’s progress in school), funeral of family member, court appearances, family vacations (when approved in advance by the building principal) or school sponsored activities if approved by the building principal (Iowa Code §299.1). The truancy officer may, with the approval of the school board, refer to the county attorney’s office a student and his or her parents for violation of the compulsory attendance law for excessive excused absences, (Iowa Code §299.5A), when it can be shown that these absences are believed to be the primary cause of the child’s poor performance in school or that it cannot be shown by competent medical authority (via the instrument of a certificate issued by an appropriately qualified physician) that states the child cannot attend school for medical or psychiatric reasons), or whose presence would be injurious to the health of other students.
The truancy officer, or other appointed persons, shall notify the superintendent or designee when a child is experiencing excessive excused absences and measures commonly used to elicit improved attendance have failed and whose absences appear to be adversely affecting the child’s performance to a significant degree which could be identified (by the child’s teacher(s), counselor, and building principal), but not limited to failing the attending grade because of absences.
If a child is truant from school, district officials shall make every reasonable attempt to secure the child’s attendance and document in writing all such efforts, Iowa Code §299.5A. Upon the sixth unexcused absence during a school year, an Attendance Cooperation Meeting shall be scheduled by the district’s Truancy Officer, as outlined in 501.10R. However, if a child of compulsory attendance age who is enrolled in the district is truant six nine or more days per year, the truancy officer/building principal shall notify the county attorney in writing, of the apparent violation of the compulsory attendance law by the child and the child’s parent or guardian, Iowa Code §299.11. In addition, the building principal may impose discipline on the truant child in accordance with the district’s attendance policy, Iowa Code §299.9. For children who have a history of truancy or who have been a referral to the county attorney’s office in previous school years, the process of referring these children to the county attorney’s office may be hastened by performing a Mediation for Attendance as soon as the child attains three excused absences in the new school year. Mediation, done before the child is truant of record, Iowa Code §299.5A), would allow immediate referral to the county attorney’s office once truancy (six unexcused absences) has occurred. This change of procedure would allow the district to more rapidly address the issue of truancy in families that have a history of attendance problems.
The superintendent or designee shall cooperate with officials of accredited nonpublic schools in the district in enforcing the compulsory attendance law as to students enrolled in those schools, Iowa Code §299.3. The superintendent or designee shall also notify the county attorney if a child between the age of six and sixteen who is said to be receiving competent private instruction fails to make adequate progress as defined by Iowa Code §299.A.6.
The superintendent or designee shall notify the nearest office of the Department of Transportation at any time a student over the compulsory attendance age drops out of school without enrolling elsewhere, Iowa Code §299.1B.
- First Adoption:
- 1996-06-27
- Revision Adoption:
- November 26, 2000/ January 10, 2010/ October 26, 2014
- Reviewed Dates:
- July 17, 2016/ November 14, 2021
- Legal Reference:
- Iowa Code §§ 294.4; 299 (1995). 281 I.A.C. 12.2(4)