Attendance, Engagement and Truancy Policy

Re-Entry Policy

Students withdrawn according to the requirements of ORC 3314.261 are not eligible for re-entry until two (2) full academic years have passed from the time of the withdrawal from Ohio Virtual Academy, unless otherwise required by law.

Ohio Virtual Academy Attendance and Truancy Policy

Ohio law requires school attendance and engagement in school instructional activities for all students between the ages of 6 and 18. OHVA defines student attendance as the time a student has spent attending classes, completing coursework and assignments, and taking part in additional educational opportunities which provide a new learning experience. Additionally, ORC 3314.261(C) defines/considers a student to be in attendance at school when the student either:

a. Participates in at least 90% of the hours of instructional activities offered by OHVA in that school year; or

b. Is on pace for on-time completion of any course in which the student is enrolled

OHVA students may be subject to disenrollment from school should they fail to comply with either of the above definitions of attendance and once OHVA has both

a. Provided written notification of the student’s absences at and

b. Provided intervention strategies within this policy that fail to cause the student’s attendance to comply.

Instructional activities are defined as classroom based or non-classroom-based activities that a student is expected to complete, participate in or attend during any given school day. These include:

a. Online logins to curriculum or programs;

b. Offline activities;

c. Completed assignments within a particular program, curriculum or class;

d. Testing;

e. Face to face communications or meetings with school staff or service providers;

f. Telephone or video conferences with school staff or service providers;

g. Other documented communication with school staff or service providers related to school or programs.

Attendance hours must meet the state requirements or a student will be considered truant. OHVA recommends that parents or Learning Coaches log attendance hours in the Learning Coach account regularly. Please be advised students who do not attend school for 72 consecutive hours, without a valid excuse, will be considered truant and are required to be withdrawn from the Ohio Virtual Academy.

Ohio Virtual Academy has certain responsibilities under Ohio’s Compulsory Educational Laws. The responsibility for compliance with this law belongs to the parents, but the school is obliged to keep an accurate record of attendance. If attendance is logged for a student but there is no evidence of instructional activities being completed OHVA considers that the student has not “entered into the building” and will assume that the attendance hours that were recorded are not accurate and the hours will be adjusted accordingly.

A student can prove that they have “entered into the building” and are on pace for on-time completion by working within the curriculum, submitting assignments, attending Live Class sessions, viewing recordings, working within supplemental resources, and communicating with OHVA staff Courses are designed to be interactive and require regular participation. A student’s extended periods of absence from school will be evident in the following ways:

• failure to input attendance hours

• failure to log in to courses regularly

• failure to complete assignments

• failure to communicate with teachers and advisors and act on their requests

• failure to attend classes or actively participate while logged in

• failure of courses/lack of progress in the curriculum

In order for OHVA to demonstrate that a student ison pace for on -time completion of courses , a student’s progress must match the attendance recorded. There must be evidence of learning in order for OHVA to consider the attendance hours valid. If an OHVA teacher or advisor cannot see evidence of learning they will require the Learning Coach and student to provide detailed information of what was completed during the recorded attendance hours through email.

The Ohio Department of Education and Workforce requires that OHVA offers at least 920 hours of learning opportunities to its students.. Not only is there a direct correlation between attendance and student achievement, OHVA’s operational funding is based on each student’s valid documentation of the required 920 hours of attendance for K-12th grade by the end of the year. Required hours of attendance will be prorated for late enrollees. Students should complete at least 920 attendance hours) by the last day of the school year, in order for the school to receive full state funding. K-5 students must also show completion of at least 90% of the expected percentage of the curriculum by the end of the year in order for achievement to match the attendance requirement.

If the student is going to be absent from school, the advisor must be contacted. One week prior to the absence is the general expectation for any foreseen absences (see examples below). If the reason for the absence falls outside of the “reasonable” situations set forth below, the advisor will consult with the principal to determine whether or not the absence will be excused. It is the student’s responsibility to make arrangements with each teacher regarding missed assignments. It is the preference of the school that students, whenever possible, “work ahead” prior to an absence rather than falling behind and having to “catch up”.

Ohio Virtual Academy courses are available 24 hours a day and 7 days a week. A missed day of school during the week can be made up on the weekend or completed over the course of several days. To avoid truancy issues with assignment due dates, communicate with teachers and advisors regarding any planned vacations or illnesses that may be misinterpreted as truancy. Contact with the advisor or teachers concerning absences must be made by the Learning Coach by phone or email, although students are encouraged to contact the teacher to learn the details of missed assignments. Students may not facilitate the absence notification on their parent’s behalf.

In any instance where technical difficulties are a problem with your school-supplied computer or other hardware or software, it is required that the Learning Coach contact K12 technical support immediately by visiting https://www.help.k12.com/s/ so qualified technicians can assist in resolving your problem. A student or parent must request the name of the technician and the ticket number and report them to the advisor or teacher within 24 hours. Computer problems are not valid reasons for seeking extended time on assignments or test due dates or as a reason why a student has not been working in their assigned courses or attending Live Class sessions.

In order to stay on target with assignment due dates, all students are required to seek alternative ways to access the Internet, such as a library or family member’s computer. The computer is your classroom and it needs to be available every school day.

An OHVA student will be considered truant (absent without cause) if the parent or Learning Coach fails to log/record any attendance hours, provide documentation excusing student for missed hours, or show any learning is taking place during recorded attendance, at 30 consecutive hours, 42 missing hours in one month, or 72 missing hours per year. According to ORC 3314.261(B)(3), in the event that a student has thirty or more hours of unexcused absences in any semester, the internet- or computer-based community school in which the student is enrolled shall submit a written report to the student's parent, guardian, or custodian. Therefore, a written notification of truancy will be issued when the student meets the above-mentioned thresholds. Attendance hours may only be counted for actual learning time. Continued truancy of 72 consecutive missing hours will result in a withdrawal from OHVA consistent with Ohio law. Prior to withdrawal, a truant student could be referred to the Attendance Compliancy Officer. The advisor and ACO will work together toincorporate academic and non-academic supports to help the student and remove barriers to regular attendance. As part of OHVA’s absence intervention process, OHVA may require students to attend attendance counseling sessions, parents to attend parental involvement educational programs, notification to the Registrar of Motor Vehicles, and possibly filing of Complaint in Juvenile Court.

An OHVA student may also be considered truant for progression if, even in the presence of logged attendance hours, the student is not progressing/participating in their courses. Failure to make progress that aligns with logged attendance may result in a finding of progression truancy and referral to the ACO will be made to develop a plan as stated above.

According to Ohio’s House Bill (HB) 410 law, the following guidelines define truancy:

OHVA does not permit sudden and excessive submission of attendance hours. Attendance cannot be recorded if the student did not complete any K12 lessons, or other approved educational programs, or attend online Live Class sessions. Students must be able to show proof of academic progress in order to verify attendance hours.

OHVA uses a multi-tiered system of support with the goal of early identification and intervention of attendance concerns.

· Tier 1 supports all students through engagement and data-informed practices.

· Tier 2 provides

o Parent notification of Chronic Absences – students missing 10% of expected attendance,

o Identification and notification of low engagement students, not on track to successfully complete courses due to absence from class and not completing assignments, as required.

o Support, outreach and progress monitoring of students with chronic absence and low engagement

· Tier 3 provides

o Parent notification of Habitual Truancy when criteria is met

o Both Habitual Truant and Lack of Engagement students are offered intensive, individualized interventions, identifying barriers to attendance and offering appropriate support

o Outreach and progress monitoring include regular group meetings, individual meetings, and support at all levels

o If attendance does not improve for the Habitual Truant student, OHVA may refer a student to their county juvenile court

o If there is limited measurable improvement for the Lack of Engagement student, the student will be considered for truancy withdrawal by OHVA.

o Students absent 72 consecutive school hours, without legitimate excuse, will be truancy withdrawn, as required by state law.

o If attendance does not improve for the Habitual Truant student, OHVA may refer a student to their county juvenile court

o If there is limited measurable improvement for the Lack of Engagement student, the student will be considered for truancy withdrawal by OHVA.

o Students absent 72 consecutive school hours, without legitimate excuse, will be truancy withdrawn, as required by state law.

Definition of Terms:

The Board has adopted the following terms and definitions that will be consistently utilized in our attendance-related work and reporting.

Compulsory school age: A child between 6 and 18 years of age is "of compulsory school age" and must attend school each day. A child under 6 years of age who has been enrolled in kindergarten also shall be considered "of compulsory school age.”

Average Daily Attendance (ADA): A schoolwide measurement that shows the total hours all students attended school divided by the total hours all students could have attended the school year. It is an indicator of how many students typically show up each day. Average Daily Attendance tends to mask chronic absence and can make it difficult to see when a school or district has an attendance issue.

Chronic Absence: Missing at least 10% of instructional time for any reason in the school year. Student absences from school, whether excused, medically excused, unexcused, or out-of-school suspensions, take away from instructional time and have an adverse effect on student learning.

Excused Absence: The Board acknowledges there are times when a student simply cannot be at school. The Board considers the following factors to be reasonable excuses for time missed at school:

1. Illness of the child, which may require a written physician’s statement

2. Illness in the family necessitating the presence of the child

3. Quarantine in the home

4. Death of a relative

5. Medical, behavioral, or dental appointment. Coming to school before and/or after the appointment is recommended

6. Observance of religious holidays, when outside “Religious Expression” below

7. Pre-enlistment reporting to military enlistment processing station, unless used to help fulfill graduation requirements and will be counted as “present” for school

8. Absences due to a child's placement in foster care or change in foster care placement or any court proceedings related to the child's foster care status

9. Absences due to a student experiencing homelessness, defined as a student who lacks a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence

10. Children of military families. Absences due to deployment activities of a parent, legal guardian, or custodian

11. Emergency or other set of circumstances in which the judgment of the superintendent of schools constitutes a good and sufficient cause for absence from school

The parent, legal guardian, or custodian must provide an explanation for the absence, which shall be recorded by the approving authority of the school and shall include the date and time of the absence according to local policy.

Religious Expression: A student may have up to three days excused for religious expression. To receive these days, the building principal must receive written notice from the student’s parent or guardian within 14 days of the beginning of the school year or within 14 days of the student’s enrollment date. A student absent in this way may still participate in after-school activities. The student will also receive reasonable accommodations for any academic requirement or testing missed.

A non-exhaustive list of major religious holidays, festivals, and religious observations is available on the district’s website.

Postsecondary Visitation: Students are encouraged to explore postsecondary options (such as technical college or university), and sometimes this must happen during the school day. Parents and guardians must coordinate with their child’s building administrator to receive approval and discuss accommodations before each visit. With building approval, each student will be marked as “present” for school for up to three days each school year.

Extracurricular Activities: In-state events sponsored by the district may be considered instructional opportunities for students. The superintendent or designee may determine under what conditions these opportunities allow for a participating student to be marked as “present” for school.

Habitual Truancy: Any student who is absent without legitimate excuse from the public school the child is supposed to attend for 30 or more consecutive hours, 42 or more hours in one school month, or 72 or more hours in one school year, unless the student’s district or school determines the student and student’s family are making satisfactory progress in improving the student’s attendance at school. However, if the student and the student’s family cease to continue making progress in improving the student’s attendance, a complaint in the juvenile court shall be filed.

Out-of-School Suspension: A disciplinary action that removes or excludes a student from their usual educational setting. This is different from in-school suspension, which may include an alternative learning opportunity for a student in a different setting and still may be counted as present.

Truancy shall not be the sole reason for a student’s suspension or expulsion.

OHVA Special Education Truancy Policy

While truancy applies to all students, whether a student receives special education services or not, OHVA will take every step to ensure that a student with special needs receives, in addition to other services offered, some or all of the following steps;

1. The IEP team will hold a Manifestation Determination meeting to decide whether the student’s disability is contributing to the truant behaviors, and will decide on appropriate action based on that decision.
2. The IEP team is dedicated to making the necessary changes as outlined per the outcome of the meeting that is fair and appropriate to the student, according to their needs.

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