Waukesha district outlines attendance protocols, limits of truancy enforcement

The Student Services Committee of the Waukesha School District heard a detailed presentation on district attendance processes and state rules, with staff stressing prevention and supports alongside limited use of truancy citations.

Mark Leonard, director of student services, told the committee that “attendance is the key to student success,” and walked members through how the district and Waukesha County enforce compulsory attendance under Wisconsin statutes 118.15 and 118.16 and the district’s own policies (policy 5200 and policy 5130 referenced). Leonard said the district treats 10 total absences in a year as a major warning sign and begins closer review at five absences; under state law, truancy is defined as all or part of five or more unexcused days in a semester.

Leonard said the district uses a tiered approach. Families receive monthly attendance summaries through Infinite Campus; at five absences the student is flagged for building-level follow-up, at 10 absences the district requests medical documentation for further absences, and habitual truancy triggers a formal meeting with the family. He described a range of nonpunitive supports — school-based mental health services, clothing closets, transportation assistance, mentoring, attendance contracts and targeted academic help — and said staff aim to “create that partnership between families and schools.”

Leonard said truancy citations are used as a last resort, most often for older secondary students when communication has broken down or when students make active choices not to attend. He noted municipal code in Waukesha defines three truancy categories: cutting class (regular truancy), habitual truancy (five or more unexcused days) and contributing to truancy (where a third party 17 or older encourages or enables absence). He added that school resource officers write citations when warranted and that the county has narrowed its prior, more punitive approach to focus court resources on cases involving safety.

The committee heard data context from administrators: in a representative week in February at one high school the district recorded 25 full‑day truancies in a single day (11 of those students already had more than 10 absences), and 64 students with at least one truant block that day. A district official reported that, among the state’s 10 largest districts, Waukesha’s overall attendance rate is the best.

The presentation described a new Waukesha County pilot that will place a dedicated county social worker to coordinate wraparound services with the district; Leonard said the district chairs the county truancy task force, which recommended that partnership after a yearlong review. The task force also produced an “attendance pyramid” of interventions and a shared reference list for districts in the county.

Board members asked how the district detects shifts from previously reliable attendance to new patterns of absence; staff described automated attendance notifications, school-level main office follow-up and weekly or biweekly student services data reviews that surface emerging problems. Committee members also asked how the district treats students who reach age 18 midyear; Leonard said the compulsory-attendance law applies through the semester in which a student turns 18, after which the district continues outreach and may offer alternative programs such as eAchieve, the competency program at East, or GED Option 2 to help older students return to completion.

The presentation noted limits on district authority: the county handles court processes and citations, and state law’s compulsory-attendance mandate ends at the semester of a student’s 18th birthday. Leonard emphasized the district’s goal is to reduce punitive responses where possible and expand prevention and supports that address the underlying causes of absence.

Votes at a glance: the committee voted 5-0 to approve the Student Services Committee minutes from April 2025.