                                 CODE OF VIRGINIA

APPOINTMENT OF ATTENDANCE OFFICERS; NOTIFICATION WHEN PUPIL FAILS TO REPORT TO
SCHOOL; PLAN; CONFERENCE; COURT PROCEEDINGS (§ 22.1-258)

Every school board shall have power to appoint one or more attendance officers,
who shall be charged with the enforcement of the provisions of this article.
Where no attendance officer is appointed by the school board, the division
superintendent or his designee shall act as attendance officer.

Whenever any pupil fails to report to school on a regularly scheduled school day
and no indication has been received by school personnel that the pupil&#8217;s
parent is aware of and supports the pupil&#8217;s absence, a reasonable effort
to notify by telephone the parent to obtain an explanation for the pupil&#8217;s
absence shall be made by either the school principal or his designee, the
attendance officer, other school personnel, or volunteers organized by the
school administration for this purpose. Any such volunteers shall not be liable
for any civil damages for any acts or omissions resulting from making such
reasonable efforts to notify parents and obtain such explanation when such acts
or omissions are taken in good faith, unless such acts or omissions were the
result of gross negligence or willful misconduct. This subsection shall not be
construed to limit, withdraw, or overturn any defense or immunity already
existing in statutory or common law or to affect any claim occurring prior to
the effective date of this law. School divisions are encouraged to use
noninstructional personnel for this notice.

Whenever any pupil fails to report to school for a total of five scheduled
school days for the school year and no indication has been received by school
personnel that the pupil&#8217;s parent is aware of and supports the
pupil&#8217;s absence, and a reasonable effort to notify the parent has failed,
the school principal or his designee shall make a reasonable effort to ensure
that direct contact is made with the parent in person, through telephone
conversation, or through the use of other communications devices to obtain an
explanation for the pupil&#8217;s absence and to explain to the parent the
consequences of continued nonattendance. The school principal or his designee,
the pupil, and the pupil&#8217;s parent shall jointly develop a plan to resolve
the pupil&#8217;s nonattendance. Such plan shall include documentation of the
reasons for the pupil&#8217;s nonattendance.

If the pupil is absent for more than one additional day after direct contact
with the pupil&#8217;s parent, and school personnel have received no indication
that the pupil&#8217;s parent is aware of and supports the pupil&#8217;s
absence, the school principal or his designee shall schedule a conference with
the pupil, his parent, and school personnel. Such conference may include the
attendance officer and other community service providers to resolve issues
related to the pupil&#8217;s nonattendance. The conference shall be held no
later than 10 school days after the tenth absence of the pupil, regardless of
whether his parent approves of the conference. The conference team shall monitor
the pupil&#8217;s attendance and may meet again as necessary to address concerns
and plan additional interventions if attendance does not improve. In
circumstances in which the parent is intentionally noncompliant with compulsory
attendance requirements or the pupil is resisting parental efforts to comply
with compulsory attendance requirements, the principal or his designee shall
make a referral to the attendance officer. The attendance officer shall schedule
a conference with the pupil and his parent within 10 school days and may (i)
file a complaint with the juvenile and domestic relations district court
alleging the pupil is a child in need of supervision as defined in § 16.1-228
or (ii) institute proceedings against the parent pursuant to § 18.2-371 or
22.1-262. In filing a complaint against the student, the attendance officer
shall provide written documentation of the efforts to comply with the provisions
of this section. In the event that both parents have been awarded joint physical
custody pursuant to § 20-124.2 and the school has received notice of such
order, both parents shall be notified at the last known addresses of the
parents.

An attendance officer, or a division superintendent or his designee when acting
as an attendance officer pursuant to § 22.1-258, may complete, sign, and file
with the intake officer of the juvenile and domestic relations district court,
on forms approved by the Supreme Court of Virginia, a petition for a violation
of a school attendance order entered by the juvenile and domestic relations
district court pursuant to § 16.1-278.5 in response to the filing of a petition
alleging the pupil is a child in need of supervision as defined in § 16.1-228.

Nothing in this section shall be construed to limit in any way the authority of
any attendance officer or division superintendent to seek immediate compliance
with the compulsory school attendance law as set forth in this article.

Attendance officers, other school personnel or volunteers organized by the
school administration for this purpose shall be immune from any civil or
criminal liability in connection with the notice to parents of a pupil&#8217;s
absence or failure to give such notice as required by this section.

HISTORY: Code 1950, § 22-275.16; 1959, Ex. Sess., c. 72; 1980, c. 559; 1985, c.
482; 1990, c. 797; 1991, c. 295; 1996, cc. 891, 916, 964; 1998, c. 620; 1999, c.
526; 2010, c. 597; 2018, cc. 713, 753; 2020, cc. 105, 106.