Legal Question Of The Week - November 28, 2012
By Attorney Thomas B. Mooney, Neag School of Education, University of Connecticut
The "Legal Question of the Week" is a regular feature of the CAS Weekly NewsBlast. We invite readers to submit short, law-related questions of practical concern to school administrators. Each week, we will select a question and publish an answer. While these answers cannot be considered formal legal advice, they may be of help to you and your colleagues. We may edit your questions, and we will not identify the authors. Please submit your questions to: legalmailbag@casciac.org
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Dear Legal Mailbag:
Last week, you wrote about absences and administrative discretion in determining what absences are excused and what are unexcused. Now I am confused. I thought that the State Department of Education issues guidance on what absences should be considered excused and what absences should be considered unexcused. I would love to exercise discretion, but I didn’t think I had any anymore. Can I really tell parents that I don’t accept their excuses?
Signed,
Tell Me Something Good
Dear Tell:
You raise a good question. But I am pleased to tell you that school administrators still have discretion in determining whether an absence will be excused or unexcused. On June 27, 2012, the State Board of Education adopted definitions of excused and unexcused absences. Clarity on this point is important, because school officials are now obligated to report student truancy as part of the strategic school profiles required under Conn. Gen. Stat. § 10-220(c). Moreover, truancy is defined by Section 10-198a to be four or more unexcused absences in a month or ten or more unexcused absences in a year. Thus, we need to know what absences should be considered excused and unexcused to comply with the truancy reporting requirements. To provide that guidance, the General Assembly enacted Section 10-198b in 2011, which required the State Board of Education to issue the above-referenced definitions by June 30, 2012.
Under the State Board of Education definition, the first nine absences in a year are considered excused if the parents provide written documentation of the reason for the absence within ten school days of the absence. After the ninth absence, the State definitions specify when an absence will be excused, including student illness, observance of a religious holiday, death in the family or other emergency beyond the control of the student’s family, mandated court appearances, lack of transportation normally provided by another school district, or “extraordinary educational opportunities pre-approved by district administrators in accordance with Connecticut State Department of Education guidance.”
Significantly, these definitions are provided for the purpose of permitting school districts to report on truancy in accordance with Section 10-220(c). The definitions expressly state that “[t]he use of these definitions for state purposes does not preclude districts from using separate definitions of excused and unexcused absences for their internal uses (including decisions of promotion/retention, grading and disciplinary action.” Accordingly, students and their parents do not have a free pass for the first nine absences. Rather, for local purposes such as attendance policies, district administrators can exercise their reasonable discretion in determining what absences will be considered excused or unexcused, starting with the very first absence.
The "Legal Question of the Week" is a regular feature of the CAS Weekly NewsBlast. We invite readers to submit short, law-related questions of practical concern to school administrators. Each week, we will select a question and publish an answer. While these answers cannot be considered formal legal advice, they may be of help to you and your colleagues. We may edit your questions, and we will not identify the authors. Please submit your questions to: legalmailbag@casciac.org
_____________________________________________________________________________
Dear Legal Mailbag:
Last week, you wrote about absences and administrative discretion in determining what absences are excused and what are unexcused. Now I am confused. I thought that the State Department of Education issues guidance on what absences should be considered excused and what absences should be considered unexcused. I would love to exercise discretion, but I didn’t think I had any anymore. Can I really tell parents that I don’t accept their excuses?
Signed,
Tell Me Something Good
Dear Tell:
You raise a good question. But I am pleased to tell you that school administrators still have discretion in determining whether an absence will be excused or unexcused. On June 27, 2012, the State Board of Education adopted definitions of excused and unexcused absences. Clarity on this point is important, because school officials are now obligated to report student truancy as part of the strategic school profiles required under Conn. Gen. Stat. § 10-220(c). Moreover, truancy is defined by Section 10-198a to be four or more unexcused absences in a month or ten or more unexcused absences in a year. Thus, we need to know what absences should be considered excused and unexcused to comply with the truancy reporting requirements. To provide that guidance, the General Assembly enacted Section 10-198b in 2011, which required the State Board of Education to issue the above-referenced definitions by June 30, 2012.
Under the State Board of Education definition, the first nine absences in a year are considered excused if the parents provide written documentation of the reason for the absence within ten school days of the absence. After the ninth absence, the State definitions specify when an absence will be excused, including student illness, observance of a religious holiday, death in the family or other emergency beyond the control of the student’s family, mandated court appearances, lack of transportation normally provided by another school district, or “extraordinary educational opportunities pre-approved by district administrators in accordance with Connecticut State Department of Education guidance.”
Significantly, these definitions are provided for the purpose of permitting school districts to report on truancy in accordance with Section 10-220(c). The definitions expressly state that “[t]he use of these definitions for state purposes does not preclude districts from using separate definitions of excused and unexcused absences for their internal uses (including decisions of promotion/retention, grading and disciplinary action.” Accordingly, students and their parents do not have a free pass for the first nine absences. Rather, for local purposes such as attendance policies, district administrators can exercise their reasonable discretion in determining what absences will be considered excused or unexcused, starting with the very first absence.