Attendance

It is important for every student in Ohio to attend school every day. Missing too much school has a long-term, negative effect on students, such as lower achievement and graduation rates. In December 2016, House Bill 410 was passed by the Ohio legislature to encourage and support a preventative approach to excessive absences and truancy. 

House Bill 410 defines habitually truant as:

          · Absent thirty (30) or more consecutive hours without a legitimate excuse;

          · Absent forty (42) or more hours in one month without a legitimate excuse;

          · Absent seventy (72) or more hours in one year without a legitimate excuse.

House Bill 410 defines excessive absences as:

          · Absent thirty eight (38) or more hours in one school month with or without a legitimate excuse;

          · Absent sixty five (65) or more hours in one school year with or without a legitimate excuse.

District responsibility when a child is habitually truant:

          · Within seven (7) school days of the triggering absence, the district will make three (3) meaningful attempts to secure the student’s parent or guardian’s participation on an absence intervention team;

          · Within ten (10) school days of the triggering absence, the student will be assigned to the absence intervention team;

          · Within fourteen (14) school days the student’s absence intervention plan will be developed;

          · If the student does not make progress on the plan within sixty one (61) days or continues to be excessively absent, the district will file a complaint with the juvenile court.

District responsibility when a child has excessive absences:

          · The district will notify the student’s parents in writing within seven (7) days of the triggering absence;

          · The student will follow the district’s plan for absence intervention; and

          · The student and family may be referred to community resources.

The district also will be addressing tardies to school differently as House Bill 410 converts absences into hours. If a student is less than thirty (30) minutes late, it will be considered a tardy. If a student arrives more than thirty (30) minutes after the beginning of the scheduled school day, it will be considered an absence and will follow the rules from above.

The above is a summary and implications of House Bill 410 and the new procedures that will be followed for the 2017- 2018 school year. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact the building principal, attendance secretary Melissa Robey ([email protected]), or Jeff Boyer at (740) 927- 9046.