Attendance and Truancy
Attendance at ACA
At ACA, only the Caretaker or Learning Coach can record attendance. Once the Caretaker enters the number of hours of attendance for a given day, the attendance record cannot be changed by the Caretaker. If the Caretaker has entered incorrect attendance hours, they must send written documentation to the teacher requesting a change.
ACA must report daily attendance to the state beginning the first day of school for each student. This means your child must "attend" school a specific number of hours per week. Students in Grades K - 3 are required to attend 20 hours per week, while students in Grades 4 -5 are required to attend 25 hours per week. The school week runs from Sunday to Saturday. A student may be withdrawn if they are lacking attendance for 10 percent of the annual instructional time. Also, a student must be withdrawn on the 10th consecutive day of missing attendance.
School Handbook for additional information. (Section 4.2) **
ACA must report daily attendance to the state beginning the first day of school for each student. This means your child must "attend" school a specific number of hours per week. Students in Grades K - 3 are required to attend 20 hours per week, while students in Grades 4 -5 are required to attend 25 hours per week. The school week runs from Sunday to Saturday. A student may be withdrawn if they are lacking attendance for 10 percent of the annual instructional time. Also, a student must be withdrawn on the 10th consecutive day of missing attendance.
School Handbook for additional information. (Section 4.2) **
Truancy at ACA
In order to maximize student learning, regular attendance is imperative. The ACA program offers a great deal of flexibility about how many hours students spend each day on school work and on what days of the week they complete that work. Due to this flexibility, ACA has zero tolerance for truancy. Caretakers are held legally responsible for ensuring that their students are fully participating in school, even if they have designated another individual as their student's Learning Coach. The information below is intended to help Caretakers understand how to avoid having their student be considered truant, and to understand the consequences of truancy.
In order to avoid truancy, the Caretaker must ensure that the following activities are taking place:
1.) The Caretaker or Learning Coach must enter attendance on a weekly basis in accordance with the Required Instructional Hours section (Section 3.4.2)
2.) The student completes assigned lessons and assessments.
3.) The student participates in educational activities for an appropriate number of hours, as outlined in the Required Instructional Hours of the handbook and the Caretaker or Learning Coach records these attendance hours in the Education Management System on a daily basis.
4.) The student is available for regularly scheduled telephone calls with teachers.
5.) The student attends any assigned mandatory LiveLesson® sessions.
6.) The student is able to demonstrate that they are doing their own schoolwork.
7.) The student attends mandatory state testing.
8.) The Caretaker or Learning Coach has communicated with the homeroom teacher in advance if they need to deviate from the regular school calendar (for example, switching a vacation and school day).
If the students’ teachers become aware that the student is not fully participating in school as outlined above, the student will be marked absent at the teacher’s discretion. The School Leader may override the number of attendance hours previously entered by a Learning Coach, changing the attendance hours to a 0, if the student’s teacher(s) believe the student has not participated as required. These absences will be considered “unexcused.” Absences are generally considered “excused” only for documented student illness or the death of an immediate family member. The final decision about whether an absence is considered excused or unexcused will be made by the School Leader.
Per A.R.S. § 15-803, “truant” means an unexcused absence for at least one class period during the day, a “habitually truant” student is a truant child who is truant for at least five school days within a school year. Students who are considered “habitually truant” may be withdrawn from ACA.
School Handbook for additional information. (Section 4.4) **
In order to avoid truancy, the Caretaker must ensure that the following activities are taking place:
1.) The Caretaker or Learning Coach must enter attendance on a weekly basis in accordance with the Required Instructional Hours section (Section 3.4.2)
2.) The student completes assigned lessons and assessments.
3.) The student participates in educational activities for an appropriate number of hours, as outlined in the Required Instructional Hours of the handbook and the Caretaker or Learning Coach records these attendance hours in the Education Management System on a daily basis.
4.) The student is available for regularly scheduled telephone calls with teachers.
5.) The student attends any assigned mandatory LiveLesson® sessions.
6.) The student is able to demonstrate that they are doing their own schoolwork.
7.) The student attends mandatory state testing.
8.) The Caretaker or Learning Coach has communicated with the homeroom teacher in advance if they need to deviate from the regular school calendar (for example, switching a vacation and school day).
If the students’ teachers become aware that the student is not fully participating in school as outlined above, the student will be marked absent at the teacher’s discretion. The School Leader may override the number of attendance hours previously entered by a Learning Coach, changing the attendance hours to a 0, if the student’s teacher(s) believe the student has not participated as required. These absences will be considered “unexcused.” Absences are generally considered “excused” only for documented student illness or the death of an immediate family member. The final decision about whether an absence is considered excused or unexcused will be made by the School Leader.
Per A.R.S. § 15-803, “truant” means an unexcused absence for at least one class period during the day, a “habitually truant” student is a truant child who is truant for at least five school days within a school year. Students who are considered “habitually truant” may be withdrawn from ACA.
School Handbook for additional information. (Section 4.4) **