When it is determined that a student is in grades K‐6 is in violation of the District attendance policy and procedures, the building principal will check the Department of Human Services (DHS) records to determine whether the student’s family is receiving Family Investment Program (FIP) benefits. If the student’s family is receiving FIP benefits, then DHS is then responsible for the Attendance Cooperation Process (ACP).
If the student’s family is not receiving FIP benefits, the building principal will initiate the ACP. The parents will be contacted to participate in the ACP. The building principal may also invite juvenile court officers, the county attorney, other school officials and others deemed appropriate. If others are invited who don’t have access to the student’s records either by law or a Juvenile Justice Agency Information Sharing Agreement, parental consent is needed for them to participate in the ACP.
The purpose of the ACP is to determine the cause of the student’s nonattendance, get the parties to agree to solutions addressing the nonattendance and initiate referrals to any other services that may be necessary. The agreement is then written. The agreement is to include all terms agreed to and future responsibilities of all parties. All parties must sign the agreement and failure to sign by the parents is considered a violation of the process and initiates the next level.
If the parents do not participate in the ACP, if the parties do not enter into an ACP or if the parents violate a term of the agreement, the student is deemed truant. For FIP students and non‐FIP students, the District notifies the county attorney when students are truant. When a student is deemed truant, for FIP students, DHS is again notified and DHS then initiates the process whereby FIP benefits are reduced.