Columbus City Schools
Attendance 101: Frequently Asked Questions
2012-2013
How to Code Questions/Scenarios / Answers1 / Family indicates they are moving out of country for a month during the school year and plan to return. / Consult with school social worker to verify. End date student to the last date of attendance. Document situation in IC. If a lottery student, notify School Choice office.
2 / Family indicates they are moving out of country during the school year and don’t return. / Consult with school social worker to verify. End Date student to the last date of attendance. Document situation in IC.
3 / Non-grad seniors – only need to pass OGT. Do we end date or keep them on books? How can I keep them on my enrollment without a schedule? / Option a: If the student is planning on attending an OGT prep course, please create a schedule and a plan for the student to check-in with an office secretary for the purposes of recording attendance (if the class is not held during the homeroom period). We need to make certain we have a consistent, District-wide system in which to record attendance for these students.
Option b: If the student is not attending an OGT prep course, end-date the student with a date of July 15, 2012 using the appropriate code – choices are below:
71Withdrew Due Truancy/Nonattendance (documentation required)
72Pursued Employment/Work Permit
Superintendent Approval on file.
73 Over 18 Years of Age
74 Moved
Not known to be continuing (verified by school social worker)
75 Student Completed Course Requirements
4 / What is the incentive for serving on the Attendance Committee? / The responsibilities of the Attendance Team can be incorporated into the Leadership Team or the School-wide SAIL team. The incentive is increased student graduation and success. Work the district mission.
5 / What are the rules on approved signed absences for a student who is with an agency? / The foster placement or agency is the approved signer. They have temporary custody to sign.
6 / I am 19 years old; can I sign off on my own excused absence? / Yes, when a student turns 18, they are a legal adult.
7 / What if a student self suspends? / Removal from school and suspension are legal processes. The student who self suspends is an unexcused absence.
8 / Is there a document explaining which absences can be authorized? Can we get a copy of it? / Yes, the document will be forthcoming.
9 / Do we have to call every absent student’s house every day in addition to the phone dialer? / Yes. The phone dialer is a reminder for the parent. It does not replace the human connection.
10 / Is the rule of 10+ absences in a school year result in failure still in effect? / Board Policy 5172: A student may not be promoted if the student has been truant more than 10% of the required days (18 days) AND has failed 2 or more of the required curriculum subjects, unless it is determined that the student is academically prepared to be promoted to the next grade level by the principal and teacher of the subject failed.
11 / What if transportation does not show up to pick up the student? / Verify with Brad Daniels through the transportation GPS system that the bus did not stop. If it is our mistake, code it as a class excused absence; you must provide work that the student missed! and document in Infinite Campus.
12 / How do we code students who are waiting on transportation request? / If it is our mistake, code it as a class excused absence; you must provide work that the student missed! and document in Infinite Campus.
13 / Are we going to receive training on how to scan documents into Infinite Campus? / All documents place in the student’s cum folder. More information will be forthcoming regarding the possibility of training for scanning documents.
14 / How do we handle runaways? / Check with your school social worker to verify a police report has been filed. If the report has been filed, end date due to Code 71. If a police report has not been filed, they are considered missing and we need to follow the 15 day procedure.
15 / Should we do removal and resulting suspensions as 2 entries or one? / Removals should be recorded in Infinite Campus. Once the conference has been held and a resolution determined, edit in Infinite Campus.
16 / Did secretaries get notebooks? / Secretaries received the same information in folders. The information is also located on the Intranet on the Technical Learning Center web site.
17 / What if a student is filed on and in the interim enrolls in ECOT? Can we treat it like any kid leaving the system (e.g. Withdraw upon records request?) / The truancy process continues in court for the student so we are required to provide an attendance summary to court. Prior to end dating the student, print an attendance summary and secure a copy in the student cum record. Follow procedure for students enrolling in another school district.
18 / What happens if the exit survey doesn’t happen? Sometimes we don’t know until they are gone. / If the exit survey does not transpire, send the mobility management letter to the home of the student and notify the school social worker.
19 / When do we initiate the Mobility Management student Withdraw form? / As soon as the parent indicates that they are leaving the district. This lets them know that they need to enroll their student asap in another district.
20. / What documentation is needed regarding students going on vacation and the school provided class work? / The parent or legal guardian should provide written documentation. The written documentation must be kept on file for 5 years. In addition, document in notes section of IC. The classwork must be provided.
21. / On Infinite Campus is it possible to enroll a student before they have been withdrawn from previous school? / No, the student must be end dated prior to reenrolling.
22. / How many attempts denotes “due diligence?” / Due diligence is ensuring we have done everything possible to assist a student in attending school and being successful. Since students’ needs are different, the number of attempts to intervene will be different too. Some students will respond to 2 interventions while others may take repeated attempts. The absolute minimum is 5 different methods of outreach to the student and family.
23. / A student is enrolled from Day 1. The student does not show up; we call, document, do home visits all to no avail. In late September her mother calls to say she is going to Charter X. We get a request for records. Do we withdraw her from Day 1? / The student would have been withdrawn and coded as whereabouts unknown by the 15th day of school if all attempts at contacting the family were tried. Change the destination to Charter X.
24. / Does Infinite Campus document that an attendance letter was sent? / No, that information should be communicated to the school social worker and documented in TINA.
25. / Still confused about Medical with Class Work authorized code. When can we use it? / Medical with class work is for CHRONIC medical conditions verified by a certified physician that the student needs to be out of the school setting for such things as dialysis, chemo treatments, etc. It also can be used for diseases such as whooping cough. Health Services will provide a list of diseases in the near future. This code is not to be used due to a student having a cold, strep throat, flu, stomach virus, etc.
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