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Attendance » Legal Responsibilities

Legal Responsibilities

By becoming aware of and understanding the legal requirements concerning attendance and enforcement of compulsory attendance, parents will be able to work with school staff will to develop policies that are responsive to their situations. 

Section A. is the revised Basic Education Circular that was developed to facilitate a consistent statewide approach to truancy and absenteeism reduction.

 

A. Basic Education Circular (BEC)

24 P.S. 13-1327 Compulsory Attendance and

School Attendance Improvement Conference and Plan (SAIP)

Section E. is from Pa. Code, Basic Education Circulars, 24 P.S., Section 13-1301, which relates to enrollment of students.

Compulsory Attendance and School Attendance Improvement Plans

24 P.S. 13-1327 Compulsory School Attendance

 

Introduction

Educational success promotes workforce opportunity and development and builds a strong economic future for our state. The Pennsylvania Department of Education’s (PDE) goals are for every child to be known by name, be proficient or advanced in the core subjects, be graduates from high school, and achieve equitable outcomes regardless of background or ‘condition.’ The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is committed to improving school attendance rates. In order for students to realize the opportunities and benefits from school, students have to not only be in attendance, but they must also be meaningfully connected to the school and experiencing success. To achieve this, there must be a collaborative effort across agencies, both at the state level and locally, to work with students and families to address the source issues that result in truant behavior.

 

This BEC describes Pennsylvania law pertaining to pupil attendance and truancy and offers recommendations made by the PDE to encourage the adoption of proven truancy reduction efforts. This document also provides recommendations using national experience and best practices that have proven successful in reducing truancy.

 

 

There should be a common understanding among school personnel that the initial responsibility to address truancy rests with teachers, principals and guidance counselors. School districts are advised to develop creative and innovative approaches to ensure that children are active participants in their education. Every effort should be made to keep youth in school and reduce the school district’s referrals to the courts, child welfare or juvenile justice systems in order to effectively intervene and eliminate truant behavior. Children are truant for many reasons and schools should seek to understand and address those issues. In Section IV (A)(3) of this BEC, the Department recommends that schools develop a School Attendance Improvement Plan (SAIP) as a means to address truancy.

 

Section II of the BEC describes Pennsylvania’s law on attendance; Section III provides guidance for schools to use in working with partners to prevent truancy; Section IV outlines the recommended policy on truancy for districts to adopt; Section V addresses proceedings and penalties for violation of compulsory attendance requirements; and Section VI addresses charter schools.

 

Attendance/Compulsory Attendance Requirements

Compulsory school age refers to the period of a child’s life from the time the child enters school, which may be no later than eight years of age, until the age of seventeen or graduation from a high school, whichever occurs first.

 In the case of Commonwealth v. Kerstetter the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania that found a provision of the State Board of Education’s Chapter 11 regulations is inconsistent with the School Code. The court found that Chapter 11.13, which addresses compulsory school age, inappropriately comingled terms from two separate provisions of the School Code that addressed what the court ruled are distinct issues – compulsory school age & age of beginners.  Section 1326 is the section of the Code that defines compulsory attendance and refers to “the time the child’s parents elect to have the child enter school….” However, in Chapter 11, the Board defines compulsory school age as the period of a child’s life from the time a child enters school as a beginner, which may be no later than age 8, until the age of 17 or graduation from high school.  Chapter 11 further goes on to state that “a beginner is a child who enters a school district’s lowest elementary school grade that is above kindergarten.”  Based on this section of Chapter 11, guidance historically has been provided that kindergarten students are not subject to the School Code’s compulsory attendance requirements.

The court found that the inclusion of the term “beginner” in section 11.13 of the Board’s regulation improperly modified the statutory definition of compulsory school age.  The effect of the court’s ruling is that if a parent voluntarily elects to enroll their child in a public kindergarten program, the kindergarten student will be subject to the state’s compulsory attendance laws. 

The Court did not offer an opinion on whether a parent can withdraw their child from kindergarten without being subject to truancy charges. The Court acknowledged this issue of “withdrawal and waiting” but since it was not a fact in the Kerstetter case the Court stated it was in no position to render a decision or opinion on this point. The State Board of Education recommended that PDE provide guidance on this issue and we now adopt and support the Board’s recommendation that parents or guardians who formally withdraw their child from kindergarten not be subject to compulsory attendance.

Effective July 1, 2008, an amendment to section 2103(8) of the School Code granted the School District of Philadelphia the right to set the compulsory school age for students in the district at no earlier than age 6, with the exception of home-schooled students who could continue to comply with the compulsory attendance age of 8 established for all other public school students in the Commonwealth. 

It is mandatory for all children of compulsory school age having a legal residence in Pennsylvania to attend a day school in which the subjects and activities prescribed by the Standards of the State Board of Education are taught in the English language, except in the following situations found in sections 1327, 1327.1, 1329, and 1330 of the Pennsylvania School Code:

  1. Attendance at a private trade school or private business school continuously through the entire term congruent with the school term of the resident school district and that meets the requirements set forth by the State Board of Education or the State Board of Vocational Education when: the child is 15 and has approval from the district superintendent and Secretary of Education, or the child is 16 and has approval from the district superintendent.
  2. Attendance at a school operated by a bona fide church or other religious bodies which provides a minimum of 180 days of instruction or 900 hours of instruction per year at the elementary level or 990 hours per year of instruction at the secondary level.
  3. Privately tutored or home school students provided a minimum of 180 days of instruction or 900 hours of instruction per year at the elementary level or 990 hours per year of instruction at the secondary level.
  4. Children who are 16 and regularly engaged in useful and lawful employment during the school session with a valid employment certificate. The Department of Education’s opinion is that “regularly engaged” means 35 or more hours per week of employment.
  5. Children who have been examined by an approved professional and identified to be unable to profit from further public school attendance and excused by the school board.
  6. Children who are 15 who hold a permit approved by the school district to engage in farm work or domestic service in a private home.

 Children who are 14 and satisfactorily completed the equivalent of the highest grade of elementary school in their district who hold a permit approved by the Secretary of Education to engage in farm work or domestic service in a private home.