§ 115C-381. School social workers; reports; prosecutions.
§ 115C‑381. Schoolsocial workers; reports; prosecutions.
The Superintendent of Public Instruction shall prepare such rules andprocedures and furnish such blanks for teachers and other school officials asmay be necessary for reporting such case of unlawful absence or lack ofattendance to the school social worker of the respective local schooladministrative units. Such rules shall provide, among other things, for anotification in writing, to the person responsible for the nonattendance of anychild, that the case is to be reported to the school social worker of the localschool administrative unit unless the law is complied with immediately. Upon recommendation of the superintendent, local boards of education may employschool social workers and such school social workers shall have authority toreport and verify on oath the necessary criminal warrants or other documentsfor the prosecutions of violations of this Part: Provided, that local schooladministrative units shall provide in their local operating budgets for traveland necessary office expense for such school social workers as may be employedthrough State or local funds, or both. The State Board of Education shalldetermine the process for allocating school social workers to the various localschool administrative units, establish their qualifications, and develop asalary schedule which shall be applicable to such personnel: Provided, thatpersons now employed by local boards of education as attendance counselorsshall be deemed qualified as school social workers under the terms of this Partsubject to the approval of said local boards of education.
The school social worker shall investigate all violators of theprovisions of this Part. The reports of unlawful absence required to be made byteachers and principals to the school social worker shall, in his hands, incase of any prosecution, constitute prima facie evidence of the violation ofthis Part and the burden of proof shall be upon the defendant to show thelawful attendance of the child or children upon an authorized school. (1955, c. 1372, art. 20, ss. 3, 5; 1957, c. 600; 1961,c. 186; 1963, c. 1223, ss. 8, 9; 1981, c. 423, s. 1; 1985, c. 686, s. 3.)