High School

Due to recent legislative changes on how school districts in Iowa are required to respond to student absenteeism, we will be updating our policies to reflect the updated law.  

SF 2435  Addressing Chronic Absenteeism:

Iowa’s new law on school attendance and student absenteeism introduces several key changes aimed at improving attendance and addressing chronic absenteeism.  

Major changes include: mandatory letters to parents, mandatory parent meetings, and mandatory letters to the county attorney.

This Senate File defines Chronic Absenteeism as: missing 10% of school days or hours in a grading period.

This is 6 days per trimester or 36 hours per trimester.

• When a student becomes chronically absent, the school district must notify the county attorney and send a notice to parents of their child’s absences. 

• When a student is absent for 15% (9 days or 54 hours) of school days, a meeting with the student, parent, and school official is required. The meeting will identify barriers to attendance and interventions to improve attendance.

This Senate File defines Truancy as: missing 20% (12 days or 72 hours) of school days or hours in a grading period. 

• Truancy is filed with the county attorney when a parent does not attend the School Engagement Meeting, does not enter into an Absenteeism Prevention Plan, or violates the terms of the Absenteeism Prevention Plan.

Open Enrollment: The bill reinstates the March 1 deadline for open enrollment requests. There are still good cause exceptions. If an open enrolled student is deemed truant, the receiving district can prohibit the student from remaining enrolled and prohibit them from enrolling. 

Absence Categorization

Parents and guardians will still contact their child’s building to notify them of any absence, but in alignment with the state’s new law, the state has changed how we must record absences and how districts can categorize those absences. The new legislation does not differentiate between excused and unexcused absences with the exception of: 

• Attendance at a school-related event like a field trip or participating in an extracurricular activity.

• Completion of graduation requirements or high school equivalency diploma.

• Excused for sufficient training reason by a court or judge.

• Attendance at religious services or religious instruction.

• Inability to attend due to legitimate medical reasons.

• An individualized education program (IEP) affecting attendance.

• A plan under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act affecting attendance.

• Attendance at other approved institutions (college prep, accredited nonpublic school, homeschooling, etc.)