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District updates attendance policy to reflect limit on midyear cyber-charter transfers for habitually truant students
Summary
North Penn School District will update attendance notices to reflect a state law that prevents habitually truant students (more than six unexcused absences) from transferring midyear to cyber charter schools unless a judge orders otherwise; notices will include resources to help families address attendance concerns.
The North Penn School District is revising its attendance policy (policy 204) to incorporate a recent change in state law that bars students who are "habitually truant" from transferring to a cyber charter school during the school year unless a court finds the transfer is in the student's best interest. Presenters defined "habitually truant" in the meeting as more than six unexcused absences in a school year and said the policy revision will require that family notices include that restriction along with a list of resources to support attendance, such as home-and-school visitor contact information and counseling resources.
Committee members asked about the scale of the change. Dr. Bauer (S3) declined to speculate but said from his experience only a few dozen high-school students receive attendance letters in a typical year and perhaps about a dozen would historically transfer midyear; he offered to run a report to provide concrete numbers. Presenters emphasized the district's shift toward supportive responses to truancy, noting the use of school-attendance improvement conferences and individualized attendance-improvement plans rather than punitive approaches.
The committee advanced the revised attendance policy for first reading and work-session consideration. Staff indicated they will provide data on how many students the restriction is likely to affect if committee members request it.
