WEST virginia Legislature
2017 regular session
By
[
to the Committee on Education then the Judiciary.
A BILL to amend and
reenact §18-8-4 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, relating to
truancy intervention, and defining excused and unexcused absences.
Be it enacted by the
Legislature of West Virginia:
That §18-8-4 of the
Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended and reenacted 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 shall diligently promote regular school attendance.
The director and assistants shall:
(1) Ascertain 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 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)
"Excused absence" shall be defined to include includes:
(i) (A) Personal illness or injury of the student, or in
the family if such illness or injury prohibits a student from meaningful
attendance at school: Provided, That
such illness or injury does not constitute an excused absence if it can be
reasonably accommodated by the school: Provided,
however, That a student must provide a written excuse stating the illness
or injury from a medical provider when a student’s illness or injury caused
that the student to be absent for three or more consecutive days of school, or
ten days in any thirty-day period;
(B) Personal illness or
injury of a member of the student’s family who regularly resides with the
student: Provided, That such personal
illness or injury only qualifies as an excused absence 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, however, That any such absence
lasting longer than five days will not be considered excused unless accompanied
by a note from a medical provider confirming that the student’s absence from
school is necessary for the ongoing care of the family member.
(ii)(C) Medical
or dental appointment with written excuse from physician or dentist the
medical or dental provider;
(iii)(D) Chronic
medical condition or disability that impacts attendance: Provided,
That if a student suffers from a chronic medical condition or disability that
can be reasonably accommodated by the school, it does not constitute an excused
absence: Provided, however, That a student claiming that his or her
chronic medical condition or disability impacts his or her attendance at school
must provide a written excuse from a medical provider stating that the chronic
medical condition or disability necessitates that the student miss school;
(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)
Calamity, such as a fire or flood;
(vi)(G) Death in
the immediate family, to include mother, father, siblings,
grandparents, guardian or caregiver.
This excuse is limited to three days per occurrence;
(vii)(H)
School-approved or county-approved curricular or extra-curricular activities;
(viii)(I) Judicial
obligation or court appearance involving the student, verified by legal
excuse from an attorney, probation officer, judge, magistrate or DHHR worker;
(ix)(J) Military
requirement for students enlisted or enlisting in the military;
(x)(K) Personal
or academic circumstances approved by the principal;
(L) School suspensions
resulting in absence; and
(xi)(M) Such
other situations as may be further determined by the county board: Provided,
That absences of students with disabilities shall be in accordance with the
Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004 and the federal and state regulations
adopted in compliance therewith.
(B) (2) "Unexcused
absence" shall be any absence not
specifically included in the definition of "excused absence".
(c) All excuses must be
turned into the school no later than five days after the occurrence.
(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)(d) 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 meeting.
(d)(e) In the
case of ten total unexcused absences of a student during a school year, the
attendance director or assistant shall make 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)(f) 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)(g) When any
doubt exists as to the age of a student absent from school, the attendance
director and assistants have authority to require a properly attested birth
certificate or an affidavit from the parent, guardian or custodian of the
student, stating age of the student. In the performance of his or her duties,
the county attendance director and assistants have authority to 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)(h) The
county attendance director and assistants 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 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)(i) 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 times and in such 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 manner as the county superintendent may direct;
(6) Participate in school
teachers' conferences with parents and
students;
(7) Assist in such other
ways as the county superintendent may direct for improving school attendance;
(8) Make home visits of
students who have excessive unexcused absences, as provided above, or if
requested by the chief administrator, principal or assistant principal; and
(9) Serve as the liaison
for homeless children and youth.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is
to clarify what constitutes an excused absence, and to ensure that the various
excused absences are described with sufficient specificity to enable enforcement
of these provisions by the courts.
Strike-throughs indicate language
that would be stricken from a heading or the present law and underscoring
indicates new language that would be added.