Attendance

The Durant Community School District has updated its attendance policies to comply with the new compulsory attendance law in the state of Iowa. 

Here’s a summary of the new legislation: 

● Chronic absenteeism is defined as missing 10% of school (4 days in a quarter, 9 days in a semester). 

● Truancy is defined as missing 20% of school (9 days in a quarter, 18 days in a semester). 

● When a student is absent for 10%, the District is required to notify the county attorney and send a notice to parents. 

● When a student is absent for 15%, a school engagement meeting is required between the student, parent, and a school official to create a prevention plan. The school will monitor compliance and contact the parent at least once a week. 

● If the plan is violated, the county attorney may get involved. 

The 2024-25 Durant Elementary quarters are: 

● Aug. 23-Oct. 25 

● Oct. 29-Jan. 17 

● Jan. 21-March 28 

● March 31-May 28

The 2024-25 Durant Junior/Senior High (7th-12th) semesters are: 

● August 23-Jan. 17 

● Jan. 21-May 28 

Here’s what this means for families: 

Chronic Absenteeism: Durant Community School District defines chronic absenteeism as missing 10% of the days in a grading period or semester. If a student misses 10% or more days in a grading period/semester, the school will send a certified letter to their parent or guardian and notify the county attorney. No legal action will be taken at this time.mili 

Truancy: Durant Community School District defines truancy as missing 20% or more days in a grading period or semester If a student reaches 15% absenteeism, the student and their parent/guardian are required to attend a School Engagement Meeting with school officials. During this meeting, an Absenteeism Prevention Plan will be created to prevent more absences. That plan will be signed by the parent/guardian and a school representative. If a parent/guardian refuses to sign the Plan, the matter will be referred to the county attorney. Following this meeting, parents/guardians will receive weekly updates from the school regarding their child’s attendance for the remainder of the school year. 

Absence Types: The new legislation does not differentiate between excused and unexcused absences; all absences count toward the total time missed and are included in the 10% and 15% absenteeism rates with the exemption of: (1) who has completed the requirements for graduation in a public school district or has obtained a high school equivalency diploma under chapter 259A, (2) who is excused for sufficient reason by any court of record of judge, (3) while attending religious services or receiving religious instructions, (4) who is unable to attend due to legitimate medical reasons, (5) who has n individualized education program that affects the child’s attendance, (6) who has a plan under section 504 of the federal Rehabilitation Act, 29 U.S.C. 794, that affects the child’s attendance. This means that the notification and intervention process will occur at these thresholds, regardless of the type of absence.

Attendance Tracking 

We will be closely monitoring attendance to ensure compliance with the new law. At the elementary level: 

● Attendance is recorded daily in half day increments. 

● Students checked out of school for 60 minutes or more during the academic day will be considered absent for a minimum of a half of a day increments. 

At the secondary level: 

● Attendance is taken at the start of each period. 

● Students who arrive to class more than 6 minutes late will be considered absent. ● Students checked out of school during the academic day for half of the period or longer will be considered absent for that period. 

Excused Absences 

Student absences will be classified as excused and unexcused. Excused absences include: 

● Illness 

● Medical appointments 

● Family emergencies 

● Recognized religious observances 

● School sponsored or approved activities 

● Other exemptions listed in Board policy 

Family Trips or Vacations 

Iowa law requires missed days due to trips and vacations to count toward calculations of chronic absenteeism and truancy which may result in legally required interventions as stated above.