RS 17:221 School attendance; compulsory ages; duty of parents; excessive absences; consent to withdraw; condition for driving privileges
SUBPART C. SCHOOL ATTENDANCE
§221. School attendance; compulsory ages; duty of parents; excessive absences; consent to withdraw; condition for driving privileges
A.(1) Every parent, tutor, or other person residing within the state of Louisiana having control or charge of any child from that child's seventh birthday until his eighteenth birthday shall send such child to a public or private day school, unless the child graduates from high school prior to his eighteenth birthday. Any child below the age of seven who legally enrolls in school shall also be subject to the provisions of this Subpart. Every parent, tutor, or other person responsible for sending a child to a public or private day school under provisions of this Subpart shall also assure the attendance of such child in regularly assigned classes during regular school hours established by the school board and shall assure that such child is not habitually tardy from school pursuant to the provisions of R.S. 17:233.
(2) Whoever violates the provisions of this Subsection or R.S. 17:234 shall be fined not more than two hundred and fifty dollars or imprisoned not more than thirty days, or both. The court shall impose a minimum condition of probation which may include that the parent, tutor, or other person having control or charge of the child participate in forty hours of school or community service activities, or a combination of forty hours of school or community service and attendance in parenting classes or family counseling sessions or programs approved by the court having jurisdiction, as applicable, or the suspension of any state-issued recreational license.
(3) Whoever violates any other provision of this Subpart or any other provision of law which provides for the penalty provided for in R.S. 17:221 shall be fined not more than fifteen dollars, and, for such violations, each day the violation continues shall constitute a separate offense.
(4) Visiting teachers or supervisors of child welfare and attendance, with the approval of the parish or city superintendents of schools, shall file proceedings in court to enforce the provisions of this Subpart.
B. The state Department of Education and the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education shall establish a pilot program in three parish or city school systems selected by them for the purpose of reducing the number of children exhibiting habits of poor school attendance.
C. Each of the school boards shall:
(1) Develop and submit to the state Superintendent of Education a detailed written program plan designed to improve school attendance, based on local needs and resources.
(2) Give priority in selecting pilot schools within the local school districts to those with the highest percentage of nonattendance, and
(3) Focus the program in a manner designed to remedy the underlying problems causing poor school attendance.
D. Each school shall develop and implement a system whereby the school shall attempt to provide verbal notification and, if such verbal notification cannot be provided, then shall provide written notification to a child's parent, tutor, or legal guardian when that child has been absent from school for five school days in schools operating on a semester basis, and for ten days in schools not operating on a semester basis.
E.(1) A child between the ages of seventeen and eighteen may withdraw from school prior to graduation if both the following circumstances exist:
(a) Written consent is granted by his parent, tutor, or legal guardian.
(b) An exit interview is conducted where the student and his parent, tutor, or legal guardian provide written acknowledgment that withdrawal from school shall likely reduce the student's future earning potential and increase the student's likelihood of being unemployed in the future. During such exit interview, a student who is withdrawing from school shall be given information that has been prepared and supplied by the Louisiana Workforce Commission regarding available training and employment opportunity programs, provided such information is available.
(2) A parent, tutor, or legal guardian who has given written consent for a child under his control or charge to withdraw from school prior to graduation as provided in this Subsection shall not be subject to the penalty provided for a violation of the requirement of Subsection A of this Section.
F. The parent, tutor, or other person responsible for the school attendance of a child who is under age eighteen and who is enrolled in school beyond his sixteenth birthday may request that the student be allowed to attend an alternative education program or a vocational-technical education program. In the case of a child who has no parent, tutor, or other person responsible for his school attendance, the superintendent of the city, parish, or other local public school system may act on behalf of the student in making such a request. Upon such request, the superintendent of the city, parish, or other local school system in which the student is enrolled shall be responsible for determining whether the student remains in the regular school setting or attends an alternative education program or a vocational-technical education program and for developing and implementing an individualized plan of education for such student.
G. The provisions of Paragraph (A)(1) of this Section shall not be applicable to any child who is under the age of seventeen and is attending or is seeking admission to a National Guard Youth Challenge Program in this state, and the parent, tutor, or legal guardian of any such child shall not be considered in violation of the provisions of Paragraph (A)(1) of this Section.
H. Nothing in this Section shall prohibit any child from attending or seeking admission to a National Guard Youth Challenge Program in this state.
I. Nothing in this Section shall prohibit a child who is at least sixteen years of age and who meets criteria established by the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education for enrolling in an adult education program that is approved by the board from enrolling in and attending such a program. A parent, tutor, or other person responsible for the school attendance of a child who is at least sixteen years of age but under age eighteen and who is enrolled in and is fulfilling the attendance requirements of an adult education program that is approved by the board shall be considered to be in compliance with the school attendance provisions of Paragraph (A)(1) of this Section.
J. Pursuant to a policy adopted by a school board as defined by and in compliance with R.S. 32:431.1, the driving privileges of a child under eighteen years of age may be denied or suspended if the child withdraws from school prior to graduation or has been determined to be habitually absent or tardy as provided in R.S. 17:233.
Acts 1964, No. 109, §1; Amended by Acts 1966, No. 521, §1; Acts 1976, No. 425, §1; Acts 1979, No. 383, §1; Acts 1981, No. 873, §2, eff. Sept. 11, 1981; Acts 1986, No. 126, §1; Acts 1987, No. 504, §1, eff. July 9, 1987; Acts 1991, No. 757, §1; Acts 1995, No. 79, §1, eff. June 12, 1995; Acts 2001, No. 1151, §1, eff. July 1, 2001; Acts 2002, 1st Ex. Sess., No. 59, §1, eff. July 1, 2002 (Subsection F) and April 18, 2002 (Subsection I); Acts 2008, No. 688, §1, eff. June 1, 2009; Acts 2009, No. 224, §6, eff. June 1, 2009; Acts 2009, No. 305, §1.