Section 104.1(i) of Commissioner’s Regulations
Current through March 31, 2010.
Disclaimer
- Comprehensive Attendance Policy.
- Requirement. On or before June 30, 2002, each public
school district, board of cooperative educational services
(BOCES), charter school, county vocational education and
extension board and nonpublic elementary, middle and secondary
school shall adopt a comprehensive attendance policy that
contains the elements described in paragraph (2) of this
subdivision. The purpose of the policy shall be to ensure
the maintenance of an adequate record verifying the attendance
of all children at instruction in accordance with Education
Law sections 3205 and 3210 and establish a mechanism by which
the patterns of pupil absence can be examined to develop
effective intervention strategies to improve school attendance.
A public school district, BOCES, charter school or county
vocational education and extension board shall adopt its
comprehensive attendance policy only after at least one public
hearing that provides for the participation of school personnel,
parents, students and any other interested party.
- Content of the policy. The board of education, board
of cooperative educational services, charter school board,
county vocational education and extension board, and administrator
of a nonpublic school shall incorporate the following elements
into the comprehensive attendance policy:
- a statement of the overall objectives to be accomplished;
- a description of the specific strategies to
be employed to accomplish these objectives;
- a determination of which pupil absences, tardiness
and early departures will be excused and which will not
be excused and an illustrative list of excused and unexcused
pupil absences and tardiness;
- a description of the coding system used to identify
the reason for a pupil’s absence, tardiness or early
departure recorded in the register of attendance;
- a description of the school district, BOCES,
charter school, county vocational education and extension
board or nonpublic school policy regarding pupil attendance
and a pupil’s ability to receive course credit. Any board
of education, board of cooperative educational services,
charter school board or county vocational education and
extension board that adopts a policy establishing a minimum
standard of attendance in order for a pupil to be eligible
for course credit shall have the AUTHORITY to determine
that a properly excused pupil absence, for which the
pupil has performed any assigned make up work, shall
not be counted as an absence for the purpose of determining
the pupil’s eligibility for course credit under such
policy. In the event a board of education, board of cooperative
educational services, charter school board or county
vocational education and extension board adopts a minimum
attendance standard as a component of its policy, such
policy shall include a description of the notice to a
pupil’s parent(s) or person(s) in parental relation as
well as the specific intervention strategies to be employed
prior to the denial of course credit to the pupil for
insufficient attendance.
- a description of the incentives to be employed
to encourage pupil attendance and any disciplinary sanctions
to be used to discourage unexcused pupil absences, tardiness
and early departures;
- a description of the notice to be provided
to the parent(s) of or person(s) in parental relation
to pupils who are absent, tardy or depart early without
proper excuse.
- a description of the process to develop specific
intervention strategies to be employed by teachers and
other school employees to address identified patterns
of unexcused pupil absence, tardiness or early departure;
- identification of the person(s) designated in
each school building who will be responsible for reviewing
pupil attendance records and initiating appropriate action
to address unexcused pupil absence, tardiness and early
departure consistent with the comprehensive attendance
policy.
- The board of education, board of cooperative educational
services, charter school board, county vocational education
and extension board and governing body of a nonpublic school
shall annually review the building level pupil attendance
records and if such records show a decline in pupil attendance
the board or governing body shall revise the comprehensive
pupil attendance policy and make any revisions to the plan
deemed necessary to improve pupil attendance.
- Each board of education, board of cooperative educational
services, charter school board, county vocational education
and extension board, and nonpublic school shall promote necessary
community awareness of its comprehensive attendance policy
by:
- providing a plain language summary of the policy
to the parents or persons in parental relation to students
at the beginning of each school year and taking such
other steps deemed necessary to promote the understanding
of such policy by students and their parents or persons
in parental relation;
- providing each teacher with a copy of the policy
and any amendments thereto as soon as practicable following
initial adoption or amendment of the policy, and providing
new teachers with a copy of the policy upon their employment;
and
- making copies of the policy available to any
other member of the community upon request.
