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3.When the student accrues a 7th unexcused absence, the school principal or designee will schedule an attendance
conference with the multi-disciplinary team, which may be held face to face or through the use of communication
technology. The conference must be held within 10 school days of the 10th unexcused absence. The conference will
be held even after reasonable efforts have been made but the parent is not willing or unable to attend. During the
attendance conference, the multi-disciplinary team will review and revise the attendance plan as needed to address
the nonattendance issues. A student success team meeting may serve as an attendance conference. "Multi-
disciplinary team" means a conference team that participates in the prevention, early intervention, and provision of
support services. Team members may include but are not limited to, the following: an administrator, school
counselor, attendance officer, student involvement specialist, teacher, and other student support personnel. The
team may also include community service providers.
4.The student’s attendance will be monitored by a member of the multi-disciplinary team and, as necessary, meet
again to address concerns and plan additional interventions if the student’s attendance does not improve. All
meeting dates and intervention efforts will be documented in the student’s attendance plan.
5.In circumstances in which the parent is intentionally noncompliant with compulsory attendance requirements or the
student is resisting parental efforts to comply with compulsory attendance requirements, the school principal or
principal's designee will make a referral to the attendance officer or student involvement specialist. The attendance
officer will schedule a conference with the parent within 10 days after receiving the referral to determine whether
the school’s multi-disciplinary team has exhausted all efforts to improve the nonattendance issues. Schools will
prioritize supportive engagement with students and families and document interventions prior to consideration of
court involvement or additional enforcement actions. Based on that determination, the attendance officer may
recommend that the division i) file a complaint with the juvenile and domestic relations district court alleging the
student is a child in need of supervision as defined in § 16.1-228 of the Code of Virginia or ii) institute proceedings
against the parent pursuant to § 18.2-371 or 22.1-262 of the Code of Virginia. The Program Administrator of Outreach
Services will file the complaint and ensure that the intake worker is provided with written documentation of the
efforts to comply with truancy intervention requirements, including, all records of intervention regarding the
student's unexcused absences, such as copies of the conference meeting notes, attendance plan, and description of
the supports offered or made available to the student.
Unexcused Absences in High School Credit Classes for Middle and High School Students
At the secondary level (Middle and High) the parent and student will be notified in writing or other documented method
of communication of a semester grade not exceeding a 59, should the student reach nine (9) unexcused absences in a
class for a given semester. Notification will include a process for the parent to request a waiver of one or more
unexcused absences. The request for a waiver must be filed within (10) days to the principal after the conclusion of the
semester. Documentation must accompany the request in order to be considered.
Principals must consider the student’s participation in “flexible instructional time” learning recovery opportunities
when considering a waiver of one or more absences. Secondary students must attend three hours of flexible
instructional time to reduce a traditional full day absence by one day. For the purposes of this procedure, flexible
instructional time must meet the following criteria:
Be taught by a licensed teacher;
The flexible, instructional time must be in-person;
Cannot exceed pupil to teacher requirements outlined in the standards of quality;
Student must be engaged in instruction tied to Virginia content standards that is consistent with the curriculum the
student missed during the regular school day or curriculum areas with which the student has struggled;
Interactions and engagements between teacher and student are consistent with regular school day classrooms
interactions; and
Must be outside of normal school hours (before or after the official school day begins/ends or Saturday).
Chronic Absenteeism
Virginia Department of Education Accreditation Standards (effective 2018/2019 school year) include Chronic
Absenteeism as a School Quality Indicator. Chronic absenteeism (or excessive absences) is defined as missing ten
percent or more of the school year for any reason, including excused absences, unexcused absences and suspensions.
Newport News Public Schools seeks to reduce chronic absenteeism of our students by taking a tiered intervention
approach. The principal or designee of each school will establish a school attendance team that will be tasked with
organizing and facilitating a schoolwide multi-tiered attendance strategy that begins with prevention and early
intervention.
School attendance teams will meet regularly, as part of the school’s Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS) framework,
to review attendance data, identify students requiring Tier 2 and Tier 3 supports, monitor intervention effectiveness,
and coordinate family engagement strategies. School attendance teams are led by the principal or designee and may
include the school’s: attendance clerk or secretary, school counselor, school nurse, attendance officer, school
psychologist, school social workers, family and community engagement specialists, registrar, expanded learning staff,
and other student support personnel. Teams should prioritize incorporating input from families, students and the
community.
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