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Rio Vista ISD Truancy Prevention Measures

  • 1) Check first for unposted attendance at secondary

    • remind teacher to post
    • call parents to the extent possible

    2) Call parents at elementary

    • remind and assist (if needed) parent to enroll in parent portal to receive attendance & grade notifications
  • 1) Letter

    • 3-day truancy letter is generated

    2) Attendance Meeting and/or Attendance Contract           (MS & HS)

  • 1) 5-day Truancy Letter
    2) Attendance mtg. with campus administrator or designee.

    • Student and put on Attendance Behavior Improvement Plan (ABIP) and required to sign in daily (45 day term) Attendance must be monitored for compliance
  • 1) 7-Day Truancy Letter
    2) Parent Tribunal Meeting w/ District Truancy Officer

    •  Review ABIP progress and issue orders
  • 1) File on parent with Johnson County Court

    • Continue to communicate with court regarding court orders

Attend Today, Achieve Tomorrow

Regular school attendance is essential for a student to make the most of his or her education. Attendance is the education equalizer. The achievement gap has less to do with ethnicity, gender, economics, or geography and more to do with students being present and accounted for. Chronic student absenteeism dramatically undermines student success and school performance and may result in a serious disruption of a student’s mastery of the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills.

Two state laws regarding attendance are of special interest to students and parents:

 Compulsory Attendance & Attendance for Credit or a Final Grade

Did you know that….

  • Children who miss too many days in kindergarten and 1st grade are much less likely to read at grade level by the end of 3rd grade.
  • By 6th grade, chronic absence is a proven early warning sign for students at risk for dropping out of school.
  • In the 9th grade, school attendance is a better indicator than test scores of a student’s likelihood to graduate from high school. For every week of school missed, a student’s chance for graduation drops by 20 percentage points.
  • Even if absences are excused, a student must attend a class 90 percent of the time to receive credit for a semester.

Ultimately, parents are responsible for getting their children to school.

  • When possible, schedule doctor’s appointments early or late in the day to enable your student to attend at least part of the day. If your child attends part of the day, the school will be able to count them present for the entire day when the doctor’s note is returned.
  • If your student misses an entire day for a medical appointment, make sure to bring a note from the doctor’s office upon the student’s return within five days.
  • If your child is ill, call or email the campus attendance clerk the first morning of their absence or send a parent note within five days when your student returns. Up to three absences per semester may be excused with a parent note.
  • Arrive at school on time and attend every class period.
  • Little things become behaviors and habits; make school attendance a priority. Good attendance will become a habit formed early and will help your child stay employed in the future.
  • Make sure your child’s job does not require working during the school day or after 10 p.m. on school nights.
  • Ask for help from your campus counselor or district attendance officer if you are having trouble with your child.

Parent/Medical Notes

 May be submitted via email or hand-delivered to the child’s campus.

Compulsory Attendance

The State of Texas requires that all students at least 6 years of age and not yet 19 attend school until they obtain a diploma. It is important for students to attend school each day. There is a direct correlation between student attendance and academic performance in school.

Compulsory attendance is enforced through §25.093 and new Chapter 65, Texas Family Code.[4] RVISD will begin Truancy Prevention Measures when a student reaches three unexcused absences.

Section 25.085 Compulsory School Attendance

https://texas.public.law/statutes/tex._educ._code_section_25.085

FEA (LEGAL) and FEA (LOCAL)

https://pol.tasb.org/Policy/Search/744?filter=fea

90% Attendance Law

In addition to the Compulsory Attendance Law, there is the 90% Law. In order to receive credit for a final grade for a class, a student is required to attend class 90% of the days a class is offered regardless of whether the student’s absences are excused (see FEA) or unexcused. Attorney General OP. JC-0398 (2001). If the student does not meet this requirement, the student must go through the Attendance Recovery Process.

If the student drops below 90% but attends class at least 75% of the days the class is offered, the student may earn credit for the class by completing a plan approved by the principal.

If a student is denied credit because of the 90% law, the parents have the right to appeal the decision within 30 days of the end of the semester in which the credit was denied. The Attendance Committee will meet on all appeals and render a decision based on the circumstances as presented by the student and parent within 30 days of the end of the semester in which the credit was denied.

FEC (LEGAL) and FEC (LOCAL)

https://pol.tasb.org/Policy/Search/744?filter=FEC

Parent Liability

When Truancy Prevention Measures fail to solve the problem, referral to a truancy court that can impose civil consequences is an option for parents and students (between the ages of 12 and 18), unless the failure to attend school is the result of pregnancy, being in the foster care program, homelessness, or being the principal income earner for the student’s family.  

RVISD will file a complaint for criminal prosecution of a parent for contributing to a student’s failure to attend school if the parent fails to require the student to attend school on 10 or more parts of days within a six-month period. The offense of contributing to a student’s failure to attend school is a misdemeanor, punishable by a fine.

FED (LEGAL)

https://pol.tasb.org/Policy/Search/744?filter=FED

Good to Know….

RVISD official attendance is taken at 9:00am daily on each campus; in addition, RVMS & RVHS must take attendance each period. EVERY period stands alone and counts as an absence on the secondary campuses!

Notes must be emailed or hand-delivered to the child’s campus within 5 days of an absence to be considered for excuse or text exemptions with the exception of medical notes.

Please stay abreast of your child’s attendance by using the Alert system in Parent Portal by following this pathway:

rvisd.net/students & parents/Parent Portal - once logged in, you have the option to set both attendance and grade alerts to your phone and/or email. You may contact the campus secretary directly for assistance with the Parent Portal.