The Clinch County High School is a part of the Clinch County School System.
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CLINCH COUNTY SCHOOLS STUDENT ATTENDANCE PROTOCOL
Purpose
The overall object of the Clinch County Student Attendance Protocol is to improve attendance in our schools. The purpose of the Clinch County Student Attendance Protocol Committee is:
Committee Membership
Membership includes, at a minimum, a representative of each of the following agencies, officials and/or programs appointed to serve on the Clinch County Student Attendance Protocol Committee:
· Chief Judge of Superior Court · District Attorney · Juvenile Court Judge · Department of Juvenile Justice · Clinch County School System Superintendent, a certificated school employee, a local school board member, or a certificated School Social Worker from Clinch County Schools; · Clinch County Sheriff/Deputy · Clinch County Chief of Police · Clinch County Department of Family and Children Services · Clinch County Health Department · Clinch County Behavioral Health Services; and · Clinch County Family Connection
Meetings
The Clinch County Student Attendance Protocol Committee will meet biannually during the school year. Meeting dates, times, and locations will be set at the preceding meeting.
Definition of Terms
Tardy to School: Any student arriving at school following the ringing bell, chime, or other audible signal established by the Principal and intended to indicate the start of the school day. Any student who is on school property but is not in his or her classroom or other authorized area following the bell, chime, or other audible signal will be considered tardy to school.
Tardy to Class: A student is “tardy to class” when he/she arrives to class following the ringing bell, chime, or other audible signal indicating the beginning of instructional time.
Excused Tardy: A tardy resulting from events beyond a student’s control, such as an accident, road closed due to an accident, area power outage, late bus, or other excuses determined by the Principal or designee as acceptable. Documentation is required to excuse a tardy.
Unexcused Tardy: Incidents including over-sleeping, errands, or similar excuses determined by the Principal or designee as unacceptable are unexcused. Documentation will not obligate the Principal or designee to excuse an unexcused tardy.
Early Checkout: Leaving school prior to the end of instructional time and/or the end of the official school day.
Official School Start/End Time: The time designated by the Principal and advertised to students and parents as the official start or end of the school day. Correct time will be the time as determined accurate by the school Principal, indicated on a designated school clock, and displayed in a prominent location.
Unexcused Tardies and Early Checkout:
Students leaving early or arriving late to class will be counted absent from the class or classes missed if they are not present for the designated instructional period as stated in the student handbook.
Ten or More Tardies: Ten or more tardies may result in immediate referral to support agencies outside the school system as the Principal deems appropriate. Among these agencies is the Department of Family and Children Services (DFCS), law enforcement, Juvenile Court, Family and/or Youth Connections, or other external agencies.
Truant: Any child subject to compulsory attendance who during the school calendar year has more than five days of unexcused absences.
Exception for Suspension: School days missed as a result of an out of school suspension shall not count as unexcused days for the purpose of determining student truancy.
Excused Absences: Local board of education shall adopt policies and procedures excusing students from school under the following circumstances, at a minimum:
Grades and Absences: Final student course grades shall not be penalized because of absences if the following conditions are met.
Student Withdrawals (limitations): The Clinch County School System is authorized to withdraw a student who:
Procedures
Parental Notification: Statement of Receipt
Each school will provide to the parent, guardian, or other person having control or charge of each child enrolled in public schools a written summary of possible consequences and penalties for failing to comply with compulsory attendance under O.C.G.A. 20-2-690.1. By September 1 of each school year or within 30 days of a student’s enrollment in the school system these statements shall be signed by the parent/guardian and children age ten years or older, indicating receipt of such written statement for consequences and penalties. The signed copies are maintained, throughout the school year, at the school. Each school will create a building level procedure in accordance with this policy.
Clinch County Board of Education will monitor student attendance daily. Codes for attendance used in the student records database (SASI) will be consistent between schools to indicate excused absences, unexcused absences, excused tardies, early withdrawals, in-school suspensions, and out-of-school suspensions.
Each school has established a procedure to identify students who are truant. These procedures include attempting to determine the causes of failure to comply with compulsory attendance mandates and addressing the issue with children and their parents. This procedure may include:
It may be determined a referral to the School Social Worker is required. The School Social Worker will schedule a conference with the child and the parent, or make a home visit to explore reasons for absence.
At the conference, the School Social Worker, the child and the parent will identify barriers to regular attendance and devise strategies to remove those barriers. Additionally, the School Social Worker may contract with the child and parent regarding improved attendance or may initiate a referral to community resources.
After five (5) absences K-7, or three (3) absences 8-12, the homeroom teacher or administrative designee will call parents.
Attendance notices will be sent at five (5) absences for grades K-7 and three (3) absences for grades 8-12.
After five (5) unexcused absences K-7, three (3) unexcused absences 8-12:
After seven (7) unexcused absences, and a determination has been made that all school-based interventions have been exhausted, the School Social Worker will make a referral to the Assistant District Attorney (ADA) using the Truancy Referral form (See Attachment A- Clinch County Schools Truancy Reduction Program). The ADA will generally schedule a conference with the family and attempt to contract with the child and parent to improve attendance. Upon notification of continued non-attendance, the ADA will proceed with the prosecution of alleged violations of O.C.G.A. 20-2-690.1, relating to mandatory school attendance in Clinch County Juvenile Court in the event it is determined the child is willfully not attending school. In the event it is determined the parent/guardian is not fulfilling their responsibility to send the child to school, the School Resource Officer will be contacted by the School Social Worker and a warrant will be obtained for the parent/guardian for violation of Georgia’s Compulsory School Attendance law.
Each school shall have procedures addressing consequences for students who are tardy and it shall be published in the Student Handbook.
In relation to attendance, Clinch County Schools will uphold O.C.G.A 40-5-22 which states that the driver’s license or instructional permit of an individual under the age of 18 can be suspended or revoked if one or more of the following occurs:
According to O.C.G.A. 40-5-22, no individual under the age of 18 can obtain a driver’s license or instructional permit unless he/she can present to the license examiner:
In accordance with the Teenage and Adult Driver Responsibility Act (TAADRA), the Clinch County School system will submit a Certificate of Non-Compliance to the Department of Motor Vehicle Safety regarding students age 14-17 years who have dropped out of school or who have more then ten (10) days of unexcused absences in any semester or combination of two (2) consecutive quarters.
II. Community Support
Each school in Clinch County has access to, either on-site or within minimal driving distance, an employee of the Clinch County Sheriff’s Department or Police Department. These individuals are certified peace officers designated as “School Resource Officers”. In support of improved school attendance, the School Resource Officers shall:
Each school in Clinch County has licensed staff available to service students via on-site school “clinics”. These personnel are hired by the Clinch County Board of Education but operate annually under the Protocol of the Clinch County Physicians and Clinch County Health Department. School Nurses shall:
1. Be responsible, in cooperation with other staff, for the final determination at each school regarding when a child should be sent home early for the day, due to health related concerns. 2. Be available to parents for preliminary verification to the school of illness pending an appointment with a physician and advocate with physician’s offices for timely appointments. 3. Follow any orders written by student’s physicians regarding medication or other medical treatment to be provided during school hours. 4. Work in conjunction with teachers, school administrators, and the school social worker to promote general health and safety for students, school staff, and the community.
The Clinch County Health Department is an integral partner in community health related to school readiness, attendance, and success. The Clinch County Health Department shall:
The Clinch County Mental Health provides crucial support for the mental, physical, and emotional well being of students and their families, including individual and group sessions on-site at the schools or at the Mental Health office. In support of this Protocol, Clinch County Mental Health shall:
D. Department of Family and Children Services The Clinch County Department of Family and Children Services often provide social services to the families of truant students. In support of this protocol, the Clinch County Department of Family and Children’s Services shall:
1. Accept and consider information related to school attendance, behavior, and performance in reports and investigations of other suspected abuse and/or neglect. 2. Address school attendance in departmental case plans and safety plans. 3. Ensure school enrollment and regular attendance for students in emergency shelter care, temporary guardianship arranged by the department, or foster care. 4. Verify involvement of the School Social Worker when available attendance information indicated more than ten (10) unexcused absences. 5. Attend court proceedings when necessary, for cases involving truancy and/or complaints against parents related to mandatory school attendance. Subpoena(s) should be issued to the appropriate Case Manager and/or Investigator when participation by the Department of Family and Children Services is desired.
III. Monitoring the Protocol To ensure that these written protocol procedures are followed, the Protocol Committee will meet bi-annually, as required by law. Each participating agency shall monitor and evaluate compliance with this protocol and, as needed, recommend protocol revision and implementation that best meets the needs of the community and complies with Federal, State, and local status, as well as agency policy.
__________________________________ __________________ Judge of Superior Court Date
__________________________________ __________________ Superintendent, Clinch County Schools Date
__________________________________ __________________ District Attorney Date
__________________________________ __________________ Judge, Juvenile Court Date
__________________________________ __________________ Department of Juvenile Justice Date
__________________________________ __________________ Clinch County Sheriff Date
CLINCH COUNTY SCHOOLS TRUANCY REDUCTION PROGRAM
Proposal and Goal
The District Attorney’s Office for the Alapaha Judicial Circuit, in cooperation with the Department of Juvenile Justice, has approved a truancy reduction program. The goal of this program is to reduce truancies throughout the county. The mission of the program is to reduce overall delinquency rates by identifying at-risk children and providing early intervention. Truancy is an early indicator of children who are at risk for delinquent behavior. Therefore, reducing truancy is a good starting point for reducing overall juvenile crime rates.
Procedure
When a child incurs five (5) unexcused absences, the school will report the absences to the school social worker. The social worker then makes contact with the family and places the family on notice of the child’s absences and of the provisions of Georgia’s compulsory attendance law. At a total of seven (7) unexcused absences after initial contact by the social worker, the social worker refers the case to the District Attorney’s Office by forwarding Exhibit “A” attached hereto. The social worker should check for other siblings in the family who may be having truancy problems so all children may be seen in one conference. The Assistant District Attorney (ADA) will send a certified letter to the parents notifying them of the mandatory conference at the District Attorney’s Office regarding their child’s school attendance. A copy of this letter is attached hereto as Exhibit “B”.
Conferences are scheduled for fifteen (15) minute increments beginning after school at 3:30 p.m. Some conferences may take between twenty (20) and twenty-five (25) minutes. The ADA, social worker, parents, and child, must all be present at the conference. The ADA begins the conference by introducing all parties and stating the purpose of the meeting. The ADA will explain Georgia’s Compulsory Attendance Law to the parents and the children and the consequences for noncompliance. Possible consequences for the child include the filing of a formal complaint with Juvenile Court. Consequences for the parents include arrest and release on a formal misdemeanor warrant with charges brought before the Grand Jury for indictment and prosecution in Superior Court pursuant to O.C.G.A 20-2-690.1. At the referral meeting, the school social worker shall discuss the child’s school record including attendance and disciplinary problems. The parents and child are given an opportunity to explain the absences as well as other potential problems that need to be identified and addressed.
All parties to the conferences sign a contract. A copy of the contract is attached hereto as Exhibit “C”. The contract requires a doctor’s note for any additional absences from school. If other problems are identified, such as drug or alcohol abuse, chronic lice, anger management, or the need for parenting classes, those problems shall be addressed in the contract. The parents and social worker are given copies of the contract and the ADA keeps the original. The parents are informed that any violoation of the contract may result in a referral to Juvenile Court and/or misdemeanor criminal charges against the parents. Notes are taken by the ADA for statistical purposes as well as for potential legal action in the future. The note form is attached hereto as Exhibit “D”.
A copy of the contract is given to the school to be placed in the student’s file. If a violation of the contract, another truancy violation, does occur the school shall immediately notify the school social worker. After any report of a violation, the social worker must notify the ADA in writing and include a current attendance printout on the student so a Juvenile Complaint form can be completed.
All truancy complaints filed with the Juvenile Court shall be prosecuted by the District Attorney’s Office for the Alapaha Judicial Circuit. If the child continues to have truancy problems after the initial truancy referral meeting, then formal action shall be taken by the ADA. It shall be the policy of the ADA of the Alapaha Judicial Circuit, the Juvenile Court, and the Department of Juvenile Justice, for first time truancy offenders to seek a ninety (90) day valid court order from the Juvenile Court. This shall be an informal period of supervision used to monitor attendance. It shall be the duty of the school social worker to monitor said attendance and report to the Department of Juvenile Justice all violations of the court’s order.1 A truant juvenile upon the conviction of a second offense shall be placed under formal supervision with the Juvenile Court with another valid court order. The valid court orders shall be good for a period of twelve (12) months. A juvenile who violates the terms and conditions of their valid court order because of another truancy violation shall receive forty-eight (48) hours at the Regional Youth Detention Center (RYDC).2 A second violation of the valid court order because of truancy shall incur a sentence of ten (10) days at the RYDC. Any subsequent violations of the court’s order where the violation is based on truancy shall receive twenty (20) days at the RYDC.3 These are policy guidelines followed by the truancy reduction progam; however, all dispositions of the cases remain within the discretion of the Juvenile Court.
If it is determined that enough evidence exists to prosecute the parents for violation of Georgia’s Compulsory Attendance Law, or the facts of the case show the parents are the responsible parties for the truancy problems of the children, then a request will be made by the ADA for assistance by local law enforcement to secure a Superior Court arrest warrant for the parents for violation of Georgia’s Compulsory Attendance Law. The request shall be made for local law enforcement to arrest the parents and interview them regarding the violation. It will be the policy of this office to request that the parents be released without bond on their own recognizance. A formal indictment will be sought from the next available grand jury to show community support for the project and for further prosecution of the parents.
Conclusion
The goal of the program is to insure compliance with Georgia’s Compulsory Attendance Law and provide the opportunity for all children to obtain the best possible education available.
1For all purposes in this program, it shall be deemed a violation of the court order when the student has obtained three (3) unexcused absences in any month. 2This does not apply for violations of probation for causes other than truancy. 3These guidelines would also apply to juveniles who have new truancy offenses and have been released from supervision with the exception that a new valid court would be necessary.
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The Clinch County High School is a part of the Clinch County School System. For information or comments on this site please contact the Webmaster.
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