SART and SARB

What is the SART Process?

AUSD has determined the SART process may begin with:

• 6 or more unexcused absences

• 6 or more tardies over 30 minutes

• 6 or more period tardies

SART is a School Site Team that includes the parent and the student, Principal or designee and the School Attendance Review Board Chairperson. The goal of this team is to identify possible solutions to improving the student’s attendance and/or behavior. At this meeting, the student agrees to abide by the directions of the School Attendance Review Team (SART) as outlined below.

• Attend school regularly and on time each day.

• Abide by school rules and regulations.

• Obey the directions of my teachers and administrators.

• Complete any class assignments.

• Develop a positive attitude about school.

• Other

Parent(s) agree to abide by the directions of the School Attendance Review Team (SART) as outlined below:

• Cooperate with school officials.

• Ensure son/daughter’s compliance with SART directives.

• Comply with SART’s assignments of specific parental responsibilities.

• Notify the attendance office when son/daughter violates the agreement.

• Obtain medical notes when son/daughter is absent for more than one day.

• Attend classes with son/daughter after the next incidence of truancy/misbehavior.

• Pick up, or make arrangements to have picked up, son/daughter’s homework if he/she will be out of school more than two days.

• Bring son/daughter to school daily and on time.

• Talk with son/daughter in positive terms about school.

• Other

The School Attendance Review Team (SART) process begins at the school site to resolve absence and/or behavioral patterns. It takes place before the SARB. Failure to abide by the intervention plan developed here will result in a referral to the SARB process.

If the student’s attendance does not improve after these steps are taken, the student is referred to SARB. The SART contract will be monitored for 15, 30 and 45 days. SARB Hearings are held the third Wednesday of each month at the Alameda Unified School District offices.

What is the SARB process?

The School Attendance/Behavior Review Board (SARB) process begins when the school site identifies an attendance and/or behavioral concern. A series of intervention steps will take place concluding with the district level SARB Meeting or in some cases referral and/or prosecution by the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office.

At the SARB Hearing:

• The school principal or assistant principal and/or counselor share the attendance record.

• SARB members ask the student and parent to explain why the student is not going to school.

• SARB members make recommendations to assist the family and student.

• The student and parent sign a SARB attendance contract.

What does the contract mean?

• The contract is a promise that the student will go to school every day and be on time.

• The student/parent will either bring a doctor’s note or have the student checked by the school nurse for illness-related absences.

• The student/parent also promises to follow all other conditions on the contract, which could include obeying school rules, participating in a parenting class, attending counseling sessions, or other conditions.

• Violation of the contract could result in a referral to the Alameda County District Attorney for prosecution.

What can SARB recommend for students?

• Counseling programs for the student and/or family.

• Parenting classes to support parents.

• A student transfer to an alternative school or program.

• Assistance from other agencies and programs like Probation, Sheriff’s Department, counseling and mental health services.

• After-school tutoring.

• Coordinated health care support between the doctor and the school nursing staff.

AUSD Truancy Reduction

School attendance is an integral component of student academic success. Regular school attendance is a necessary part of the learning process and the means to graduation with a good education. When students do not attend school on a regular basis, it is often an indication of other problems. Truancy prevention and early intervention are part of a total comprehensive school attendance program that will help students obtain the support they need to complete their education.

Efforts to improve school attendance cannot be separated from the larger picture of school reform. Safe and healthy schools, a challenging curriculum, reinforced high expectations for academics, behavior and social responsibility, constitute the framework that will give students the motivation to attend school.

COMPULSORY ATTENDANCE AND TRUANCY

California Education Code Section 48620 states:

A pupil who is absent from school without a valid excuse for three days in one school year or is tardy or absent for more than any 30-minute period during the school day without a valid excuse on three occasions in one school year, or any combination thereof, is a truant and shall be reported to the district’s attendance supervisor.

When the school designates a student as truant, it must notify the parents or guardians by first-class mail (or other reasonable means) that the student is truant. The notice must also accomplish the following:

Advise the parents or guardians of their obligation to compel the attendance of their student at school.

1. Advise them if they fail to meet this obligation, they may be found guilty of an infraction and subject to criminal prosecution.

2. Advise them of alternative educational programs available in the district.

3. Advise them that their child may also be subject to prosecution.

4. Advise them that their child’s vehicle driving privileges may be subject to suspension, restriction, or delay under Vehicle Code Section 13202.7.

Education Code Section 48260.5(h) stipulates that the first notice to the parent or guardian of a student classified as a truant should state the recommendation that the parent or guardian accompany the pupil to school and attend classes with him/her for one day.

When designated a truant, the youth be comes subject to the following actions identified in Education Code Section 48264.5:

1. Upon the first truancy, the student may receive a written warning from a child welfare officer, and the school and child welfare officer may keep the record of warning for later reference.

2. Upon the second truancy in the same school year, the student may be assigned to an after-school or weekend student program.

3. If the student fails to complete the assigned study program or is truant for a third time within the same school year, the district may refer the student to SARB or truancy remediation program.