Bill Text: WV SB3 | 2017 | Regular Session | Introduced

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Bill Title: Relating generally to truancy intervention

Sponsorship: Slight Partisan Bill (Republican 4-2)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2017-02-08 - To Education [SB3 Detail]

Download: West_Virginia-2017-SB3-Introduced.html

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WEST virginia legislature

2017 regular session

Introduced

Senate Bill 3

By Senators Trump, Plymale, Rucker, Jeffries, Sypolt and Woelfel

[Introduced February 8, 2017; referred
to the Committee on Education]

A BILL to amend and reenact §18-8-4 and §18-8-8 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, all relating generally to truancy intervention; expanding definition of “excused absence”; exempting absences for chronic medical condition or disability which may be reasonably accommodated by the school; requiring parent to request reasonable accommodation; defining “chronic medical condition or disability”; requiring written excuses or documentation from a medical provider in certain cases; limiting number of days which may be excused absences; defining “immediate family”; requiring verification of absence for judicial obligation or court appearance; allowing principal to authorize excused absences for other reason or for longer periods of time with the approval of the county superintendent; removing notice requirement after three days’ absence; requiring written excuses or documentation to be submitted within certain time frame; defining the term “reasonable accommodation”; and modifying the effect of student suspensions on enforcement of the provisions of compulsory attendance enforcement.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:

That §18-8-4 and §18-8-8 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended

and reenacted, all to read as follows:

ARTICLE 8. COMPULSORY SCHOOL ATTENDANCE.

§18-8-4. Duties of attendance director and assistant directors; complaints, warrants and hearings.

(a) The county attendance director and the assistants assistant directors shall diligently promote regular school attendance. The director and assistants assistant directors shall:

(1) Ascertain the reasons for unexcused absences from school of students of compulsory school age and students who remain enrolled beyond the compulsory school age as defined under section one-a of this article; and

(2) Take such steps as that are, in their discretion, best calculated to encourage the attendance of students and to impart upon the parents and guardians the importance of attendance and the seriousness of failing to do so. and

(3) (b) For the purposes of this article, the following definitions shall apply:

(A) (1) AExcused absence@ shall be defined to include includes:

(i) (A) Personal illness or injury of the student or in the family if the illness or injury prohibits a student from school attendance. A student shall provide written documentation from a medical provider stating the illness or injury precludes school attendance when a student’s illness or injury caused that student to be absent for three or more consecutive days of school, or ten days in any ninety-day period: Provided, That excused absences caused by personal illness or injury of the student verified only by a note from a parent, guardian or custodian are limited to five in any one semester or ten in a school year. After a student has been absent for personal illness or injury five times in a semester or ten times in a school year, any further absences shall be unexcused unless verified by a physician;

(B) Personal illness or injury of a member of the student’s family who regularly resides with the student, if the family member requires the active assistance of the student during the illness or injury and there is no other individual who can assist the family member: Provided, That any absence lasting longer than two days pursuant to this paragraph shall not be considered excused unless written documentation is provided by a medical provider confirming that the student’s absence from school is necessary for the ongoing care of the family member;

(ii) (C) A Medical medical or dental appointment with written excuse or documentation of the appointment from physician or dentist a medical or dental provider;

(iii)(D) A Chronic chronic medical condition or disability that impacts precludes attendance, unless the chronic medical condition or disability can be reasonably accommodated by the school, and the school has apprised the student and his parent, guardian or custodian of the accommodation. A student claiming that his or her chronic medical condition or disability precludes his or her attendance at school shall provide a written excuse or documentation from a medical provider stating that the chronic medical condition or disability necessitates that the student be absent from school. Upon reaching the requisite number of absences to constitute a chronic medical condition, the student’s parent, guardian or custodian shall contact the school to ascertain if reasonable accommodation can be made to allow the student to attend school. For the purposes of this paragraph, a chronic medical condition or disability is a medical condition or disability that causes the student to be absent for five or more consecutive days or ten days or more in any ninety-day period;

(iv) (E) Participation in home or hospital instruction due to an illness or injury or other extraordinary circumstance that warrants home or hospital confinement;

(v) (F) A Calamity calamity, such as a fire or flood;

(vi)(G) A Death death in the student’s immediate family. As used in this paragraph “immediate family” means mother, father, aunt, uncle, siblings, grandparents, guardian, custodian or a family member residing in the child’s home. An excused absence under this paragraph is limited to three days and the student shall provide documentation of the death;

(vii) (H) School-approved or county-approved curricular or extra-curricular activities;

(viii) (I) A Judicial judicial obligation or court appearance involving the student, if supported by written documentation from an attorney, probation officer, judge, magistrate or Department of Health and Human Resources worker;

(ix) (J) A Military military requirement for students enlisted or enlisting in the military;

(x) (K) Personal or academic circumstances approved by the principal; and

(xi) (L) Such Any other situations as may be further determined by the county board: Provided, That handling of absences of students with disabilities shall be in accordance consistent with the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004 and the  federal and state regulations and rules adopted in compliance therewith with the act: Provided, however, That a school principal, with the approval of the county superintendent of schools, may authorize that an unexcused absence be determined an excused absence based on all of the specific facts and circumstances.

(2) An Unexcused “unexcused absence” shall be is any absence not specifically included in the definition of Aexcused absence@.

(b) In the case of three total unexcused absences of a student during a school year, the attendance director or assistant shall serve written notice to the parent, guardian or custodian of the student that the attendance of the student at school is required and that if the student has five unexcused absences, a conference with the principal or other designated representative will be required.

(c) In order for the absence to be excused, the student or his or her parent, guardian or custodian shall supply the written excuses or documentation to the person at the student’s school designated to receive the excuses or documentation within five days after returning to school from the absence.

(d) For purposes of this section, a student’s illness, injury or chronic medical condition is reasonably accommodated if the school provides necessary and appropriate adjustments to school practices which allow the student’s attendance while ensuring the student’s health and safety and that of his or her fellow students.

(c) (e) In the case of five total unexcused absences, the attendance director or assistant shall serve written notice to the parent, guardian or custodian of the student that within five days of receipt of the notice the parent, guardian or custodian, accompanied by the student, shall report in person to the school the student attends for a conference with the principal or other designated representative of the school in order to discuss and correct the circumstances causing the unexcused absences of the student, including the adjustment of unexcused absences based upon such the meeting.

(d) (f) In the case of ten total unexcused absences of a student during a school year, the attendance director or assistant directors shall make a complaint against the parent, guardian or custodian before a magistrate of the county. If it appears from the complaint that there is probable cause to believe that an offense has been committed and that the accused has committed it, a summons or a warrant for the arrest of the accused shall issue to any officer authorized by law to serve the summons or to arrest persons charged with offenses against the state. More than one parent, guardian or custodian may be charged in a complaint. Initial service of a summons or warrant issued pursuant to the provisions of this section shall be attempted within ten calendar days of receipt of the summons or warrant and subsequent attempts at service shall continue until the summons or warrant is executed. or until the end of the school term during which the complaint is made, whichever is later

(e) (g) The magistrate court clerk, or the clerk of the circuit court performing the duties of the magistrate court as authorized in section eight, article one, chapter fifty of this code, shall assign the case to a magistrate within ten days of execution of the summons or warrant. The hearing shall be held within twenty days of the assignment to the magistrate, subject to lawful continuance. The magistrate shall provide to the accused at least ten days= advance notice of the date, time and place of the hearing.

(f) (h) When any doubt exists as to the age of a student absent from school, the attendance director and assistants have authority to assistant directors may require a properly attested birth certificate or an affidavit from the parent, guardian or custodian of the student, stating the age of the student. In the performance of his or her duties, the county attendance director and assistants have authority to assistant directors may take without warrant any student absent from school in violation of the provisions of this article and to place the student in the school in which he or she is or should be enrolled.

(g) (i) The county attendance director and assistants assistant directors shall devote such time as is required by section three of this article to the duties of attendance director in accordance with this section during the instructional term and at such other times as the duties of an attendance director are required. All attendance directors and assistants assistant directors hired for more than two hundred days may be assigned other duties determined by the superintendent during the period in excess of two hundred days. The county attendance director is responsible under direction of the county superintendent for efficiently administering school attendance in the county.

(h) (j) In addition to those duties directly relating to the administration of attendance, the county attendance director and assistant directors also shall perform the following duties:

(1) Assist in directing the taking of the school census to see that it is taken at the time and in the manner provided by law;

(2) Confer with principals and teachers on the comparison of school census and enrollment for the detection of possible nonenrollees;

(3) Cooperate with existing state and federal agencies charged with enforcing child labor laws;

(4) Prepare a report for submission by the county superintendent to the State Superintendent of Schools on school attendance, at such the times and in such the required detail. as may be required The state board shall promulgate a legislative rule pursuant to article three-b, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code that sets forth student absences that are excluded for accountability purposes. The absences that are excluded by the rule include, but are not limited to, excused student absences, students not in attendance due to disciplinary measures and absent students for whom the attendance director has pursued judicial remedies to compel attendance to the extent of his or her authority. The attendance director shall file with the county superintendent and county board at the close of each month a report showing activities of the school attendance office and the status of attendance in the county at the time;

(5) Promote attendance in the county by compiling data for schools and by furnishing suggestions and recommendations for publication through school bulletins and the press, or in such the manner as directed by the county superintendent; may direct

(6) Participate in school teachers= conferences with parents and students;

(7) Assist in such any other ways way as directed by the county superintendent may direct for improving school attendance;

(8) Make home visits of students who have excessive unexcused absences, as provided above in this section, or if requested by the chief administrator, principal or assistant principal; and

(9) Serve as the liaison for homeless children and youth.

§18-8-8.  Child suspended for failure to comply with requirements and regulations treated as unlawfully absent Effect of school suspension on enforcement of the provisions of this article.

If a child be suspended from school because of improper conduct or refusal of such child to comply with the requirements of the school, the school shall immediately notify the county superintendent of such suspension, and specify the time or conditions of such suspension. Further admission of the child to school may be refused until such requirements and regulations be complied with. Any such child shall be treated by the school as being unlawfully absent from the school during the time he or she refuses to comply with such requirements and regulations, and any person having legal or actual control of such child shall be liable to prosecution under the provisions of this article for the absence of such child from school: Provided, That the county board of education does not exclude or expel the suspended child from school

(a) When a child is absent from school due to a suspension, absences are unexcused for purposes of this article if the suspension is based on an intentional act of the student.

            (b) Days a student is absent from school due to a suspension from school for an intentional act of the student are not attributable to the student’s parent, guardian or custodian for purposes of enforcement of this article, unless the parent, guardian or custodian encouraged, condoned or aided or abetted the conduct causing the suspension.

 

NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to revise the law in regard to student absences from school.

Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from a heading or the present law and underscoring indicates new language that would be added.