Page 31 - James F. Byrnes High School 2021-2022 Student Planner

ATTENDANCE
Attendance policies and procedures at James F. Byrnes are designed to incorporate South Carolina State Board of Education regulations. The unlawful absences pertaining to truancy are cumulative for the entire school year (180 days).
State Board Regulation: 43-274. Student Attendance
A. Lawful and Unlawful Absences: School districts must adopt policies to define and list lawful and unlawful absences.
1. Lawful absences include but are not limited to
a. absences caused by a student’s own illness and whose attendance in school would endanger his or her health or the health of others
b. absences due to an illness or death in the student’s immediate family c. absences due to a recognized religious holiday of the student’s faith, d. absences due to activities that are approved in advance by the principal
2. Unlawful absences include but are not limited to
a. absences of a student without the knowledge of his/her parents, or
b. absences of a student without acceptable cause with the knowledge of his/her parents
3. Suspension is not to be counted as an unlawful absence for truancy purposes.
B. Truancy: The State Board of Education recognizes that truancy is primarily an educational issue and that all reasonable, educationally sound, corrective actions should be undertaken by the school district prior to resorting to the juvenile justice system.
1. Truant: A child ages 6-17 meets the definition of a truant when the child has three consecutive unlawful absences or a total of five unlawful absences.
2. Habitual Truant: A “habitual truant” is a child, ages 12-17, who fails to comply with the intervention plan developed by the school, the child, and the parent(s) or guardian(s) and who accumulates two or more additional unlawful absences. This child may need court intervention and an initial truancy petition may be filed. The written intervention plan and documentation of noncompliance must be attached to the truancy petition asking for court intervention.
3. Chronic Truant: A “chronic truant” is a child 12-17 years who has been through the school intervention process, has reached the level of a “habitual” truant, has been referred to Family Court and placed on an
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