San Francisco Unified School District and County Office of Education
Board Policy 5113.1
Chronic Absence and Truancy
This Board Policy applies to the San Francisco Unified School District and the County Office of Education.
The Governing Board believes that absenteeism, whatever the cause, may be an early warning sign of poor academic achievement and may put students at risk of dropping out of school. The Board desires to ensure that all students attend school in accordance with the state’s compulsory education law and take full advantage of educational opportunities provided by the district.
(cf. 5113 – Absences and Excuses)
(cf. 5113.11 – Attendance Supervision)
The Superintendent or designee shall establish a system to accurately track student attendance in order to identify individual students who are chronic absentees and truants, as defined in law and administrative regulation, and to identify patterns of absence throughout the district.
The Superintendent, attendance supervisor, or designee shall develop a tiered approach to reducing chronic absence. Such an approach shall include strategies for preventing attendance problems, which may include, but are not limited to, efforts to provide a safe and positive school environment, relevant and engaging learning experiences, school activities that help develop students’ feelings of connectedness with the school, school-based health services, letters alerting parents/guardians to the value of regular school attendance, and incentives and rewards to recognize students who achieve excellent attendance or demonstrate significant improvement in attendance.
The tiered approach shall also provide for early outreach to students as soon as they show signs of poor attendance or if they were chronically absent in the prior school year. Early intervention may include personalized outreach, individual attendance plans, and/or mentoring to students with moderate levels of chronic absence, with additional intensive, interagency wrap-around services for students with the highest level of absence.
(cf. 0400 – Comprehensive Plans)
(cf. 0420 – School Plans/Site Councils)
(cf. 0450 – Comprehensive Safety Plan)
(cf. 0460 – Local Control and Accountability Plan)
(cf. 0500 – Accountability)
Students with serious attendance problems shall be provided with interventions specific to their needs, which may include, but are not limited to, health care referrals, transportation assistance, counseling for mental or emotional difficulties, academic supports, efforts to address school or community safety concerns, discussions with the student and parent/guardian about their attitudes regarding schooling, or other strategies to remove identified barriers to school attendance. The Superintendent, attendance supervisor, or designee may collaborate with child welfare services, law enforcement, courts, public health care agencies, other government agencies, and/or medical, mental health, and oral health care providers to make alternative educational programs and support services available for students and families.
The Superintendent or designee shall ensure that staff assigned to fulfill attendance-related duties are trained in implementing a trauma-informed approach to chronic absence and receive information about the high correlation between chronic absence and exposure to adverse childhood experiences.
(cf. 0410 – Nondiscrimination in District Programs and Activities)
(cf. 5126 – Awards for Achievement)
(cf. 5131 – Conduct)
(cf. 5131.2 – Bullying)
(cf. 5137 – Positive School Climate)
(cf. 5141.6 – School Health Services)
(cf. 5145.3 – Nondiscrimination/Harassment)
Students who are identified as chronically absent or truant shall be subject to the interventions specified in law and administrative regulation.
(cf. 5113.12 – District School Attendance Review Board)
A student’s truancy, tardiness, or other absence from school shall not be the basis for suspension or expulsion. Alternative strategies and positive reinforcement for attendance shall be used whenever possible.
(cf. 5144 – Discipline)
(cf. 5144.1 – Suspension and Expulsion/Due Process)
(cf. 1020 – Youth Services)
(cf. 5030 – Student Wellness)
(cf. 5146 – Married/Pregnant/Parenting Students)
(cf. 5147 – Dropout Prevention)
(cf. 6158 – Independent Study)
(cf. 6164.2 – Guidance/Counseling Services)
(cf. 6164.5 – Student Success Teams)
(cf. 6173 – Education for Homeless Children)
(cf. 6173.1 – Education for Foster Youth)
(cf. 6173.2 – Education of Children of Military Families)
(cf. 6175 – Migrant Education Program)
(cf. 6179 – Supplemental Instruction)
(cf. 6181 – Alternative Schools/Programs of Choice)
(cf. 6183 – Home and Hospital Instruction)
(cf. 6184 – Continuation Education)
(cf. 6185 – Community Day School)
The Superintendent, attendance supervisor, or designee shall periodically report to the Board regarding student attendance patterns in the district, including rates of chronic absence and truancy districtwide and for each school, grade level, and numerically significant student subgroup as defined in Education Code 52052. Such information shall be used to evaluate the effectiveness of strategies implemented to reduce chronic absence and truancy and to develop annual goals and specific actions for student attendance and engagement to be included in the District’s local control and accountability plan and other applicable school and district plans. As appropriate, the Superintendent or designee shall engage school staff in program evaluation and improvement and in the determination of how to best allocate available community resources.
Legal Reference:
EDUCATION CODE
1742 Employment of personnel to supervise attendance
37223 Weekend classes
46000 Attendance Records
46010-46015 Absences
46110-46120 Attendance in kindergarten and elementary schools
46140-46148 Attendance in junior high and high schools
48200-48208 Children ages 6-18 (compulsory full-time attendance)
48225.5 Work permits, entertainment and allied industries
48240-48246 Supervisors of attendance
48260-48273 Truants
48290-48297 Failure to comply; complaints against parents
48320-48325 School attendance review boards
48340-48341 Improvement of student attendance
48400-48403 Compulsory continuation education
48900 Grounds for suspension and expulsion
49067 Unexcused absences as cause of failing grade
52052 Accountability; numerically significant student subgroups
60901 Chronic absence
GOVERNMENT CODE
54950-54963 The Ralph M. Brown Act
PENAL CODE
270.1 Chronic truancy; parent/guardian misdemeanor
272 Parent/guardian duty to supervise and control minor child; criminal liability for truancy
830.1 Peace officers
VEHICLE CODE
13202.7 Driving privileges; minors; suspension or delay for habitual truancy
WELFARE AND INSTITUTIONS CODE
256-258 Juvenile hearing officer
601-601.5 Habitually truant minors
11253.5 Compulsory school attendance; eligibility for aid
CODE OF REGULATIONS, TITLE 5
306 Explanation of absence
420-424 Record of verification of absence due to illness and other causes
COURT DECISIONS
L.A. v. Superior Court of San Diego County, (2012) 209 Cal.App.4th 976
Management Resources:
CSBA PUBLICATIONS
Attendance Awareness Month, Fact Sheet, September 2014
ATTENDANCE WORKS PUBLICATIONS
Count Us In! Toolkit! Working Together to Show that Every School Day Matters, 2024
The Power of Positive Connections: Reducing Chronic Absence Through PEOPLE: Priority Early Outreach for Positive Linkages and Engagement, 2014
CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION PUBLICATIONS
School Attendance Review Board Handbook: A Road Map for Improved School Attendance and Behavior, 2018
WEB SITES
California Department of Education
California School Climate, Health, and Learning Surveys
California Association of Supervisors of Child Welfare and Attendance
Please note that compare references, or “cf”, refer to CSBA model policies and do not necessarily indicate that the San Francisco Unified School District has adopted the referenced policy.