Compulsory School Attendance Enforcement
Toni Kersh, Director
Office of Dropout Prevention and
Compulsory School Attendance Enforcement
1 Director
3 Area Supervisors
124 School Attendance Officers
82 Counties
151 School Districts
School Attendance Supervisors
Terissa Williams
Cheryl Mickens
Bobby Johnson
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COMPULSORY SCHOOL ATTENDANCE LAW § 37-13-91
Compulsory-school-age child" means a child who has attained
or will attain the age of six (6) years on or before September 1 of
the calendar year and who has not attained the age of
seventeen (17) years on or before September 1 of the calendar
year; and shall include any child who has attained or will attain
the age of five (5) years on or before September 1 and has
enrolled in a full-day public school kindergarten program.
Provided, however, that the parent or guardian
of any child enrolled in a full-day public school
kindergarten program shall be allowed to
disenroll the child from the program on a onetime basis, and such child shall not be deemed
a compulsory-school-age child until the child
attains the age of six (6) years.
Compulsory
• Between Ages of 6 and 17
Age
• Students turning 17 in the first
semester
no
longer
fall
under
law
Exception
UNLAWFUL ABSENCES
An "unlawful absence" is an absence during a school day by a
compulsory-school-age child, which absence is not due to a
valid excuse for temporary nonattendance.
An unlawful absence is any compulsory school-age child who
is absent thirty-seven percent (37%) or more of a school day,
which the absence is not due to a valid excuse for temporary
nonattendance.
Days missed from school due to disciplinary suspension shall
not be considered an "excused" absence under this section.
Three (3) Tardy Rule????
Tardies cannot be considered as
unexcused absences
Unexcused Absence
Who makes decision?
• By law, the superintendent or his/her designee
decides whether or not an absence is excused.
Who can not excuse an absence?
• The school attendance officer
does not make the decision to excuse or
unexcused an absence.
PRESENT
For the purpose of determining and reporting
attendance, a pupil must be present for at least sixtythree percent (63%) of his/her instructional day, as
fixed by the local school board, and defined by the
student’s schedule, in order to be considered in fullday attendance.
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If a compulsory-school-age child is participating in an authorized school
activity with the prior approval of the superintendent of the school
district, or his/her designee, the student is considered PRESENT for
average daily attendance reporting purposes. The activities include, but
are not limited to:









Official Organized Events Sponsored by the 4-H
Future Farmers of America
Junior Livestock Shows
Rodeo Events
Official Employment as a Page at the State Capitol
Subject-Matter Field Trips
Athletic Contest
Student Conventions
Music Festivals or Contest
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A student’s participation in an
authorized school activity must be
verified by:
 Student Schedule
 Class Roster
 Activity Roster
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Referrals
5 unexcused absences
• Must be reported to Compulsory School Attendance Officer
within 2 days or 5 if it falls over holiday or weekend
10 unexcused absences
• Must be reported in increments of five (5)
12 unexcused absences
• Must be reported to Compulsory School Attendance Officer
within 2 days or 5 if it falls over holiday or weekend
Absences
Suspensions - Attorney General Opinion
• During the time in which a suspension or expulsion is imposed,
a student is not under the compulsory school attendance
officer’s jurisdiction whether the student is classified as regular
or special education and may not be monitored for school
attendance.
Detention Center- Section 43-21-321
•Students in the youth detention center are present.
Section 37-13-91
SUSPENSIONS
AND EXPULSIONS
(6) of MS Code 1972
The superintendent, or his designee, also
shall report any student suspensions or
student expulsions to the school attendance
officer when they occur.
Truancy is the Gateway
to Dropout
In the United States
all children are given
the opportunity for
an education.
Students travel
through the school
system some with
success and others
go through the
process of dropping
out.
Truancy is a strong
indicator the student
is disengaging and their
future is becoming
separated and limited.
Calculation of Truancy Rate
• The Truancy Rate shall be calculated using the
following formula:
• Numerator: Number of students with five or
more unlawful absences (truant)
• Denominator: Count of Student Membership –
Cumulative Enrollment
Example: 25,000 /100,000 = .25 .25 x 100= 25%
HOME SCHOOL
The certificate of enrollment shall be
prepared and maintained by the
Mississippi Department of Education,
Office of Compulsory School Attendance
Enforcement.
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CERTIFICATE OF ENROLLMENT
The Office of Compulsory School Attendance
Enforcement shall be the only authorized
entity to disseminate and collect the
certificates of enrollment.
Certificates of Enrollment will not be provided
to school district personnel for distribution.
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School district personnel must notify the
Office of Compulsory School Attendance
Enforcement (state school attendance
officer) if a parent, guardian or custodian
is seeking to enroll a compulsory-schoolage child in home school.
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District personnel cannot at any time complete a
certificate of enrollment. The certificate of
enrollment must be completed by the parent,
guardian or custodian of the compulsory-schoolage child enrolling in a home school program.
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Certificates of Enrollment will not be
accepted for individuals registering to
enroll in a home instruction program, for
the first time, that have exceeded the
compulsory school age nor will the
student be considered as a “transfer to
home school”.
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Questions / Comments
Contact:
Toni Kersh
[email protected]
601.359.3178
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