Last updated: August 2010 Form: Presented by Ofilia Chapa Laredo ISD PEIMS Coordinator

“ All public schools in Texas shall maintain records to reflect the Average Daily Attendance (ADA) for the allocation of funds.” 19 TAC § ADA = District $$$ AEIS and AYP standing 2 State Law

Responsible Personnel  Teachers (including substitute teachers)  Attendance personnel Attendance clerk Attendance (truant) officer  Campus Attendance Administrator (Principal and Designee)  Student Services – Attendance Division  Special Program Directors/Coordinators/Staff  PEIMS Coordinator  Superintendent 3

Special Program Directors and/or Staff Responsibility Student Attendance Accounting Handbook (SAAH) section 3.1 page 39: “ Important: In no case should attendance personnel be assigned the responsibility of determining a student’s coding information. Special program staff, directors, and/or teachers should provide attendance personnel with names and coding information of students who are eligible, whose documentation is in order, and who are being served in accordance with an individualized education program (IEP). Special program directors and/or their staff are responsible for reviewing special program data and totals for accuracy and completeness. They are also responsible for ensuring that attendance personnel are aware of any changes in a student’s services and the effective dates of such changes. The attendance personnel are then responsible for entering the changes in the detailed student attendance accounting system (Enterprise). At the end of each 6-week reporting period, special program staff should verify Student Detail Reports for any coding errors.” 4

Teacher Responsibilities  Recording the initial code of: present, absent or tardy (All tardy codes need a time of arrival),  Reporting daily attendance,  Verifying and checking for the accuracy of the attendance being reported and,  Attesting every two weeks to the validity of (teacher sign-off sheet verification report) reported data with his or her signature. Note: If changes are made (after two week verification) a copy of changes with signature, date, and reason for changes being requested will be submitted to attendance clerk. Administrator must approve change and sign form also. Student Attendance Accounting Handbook Section III (1-2) and 19 TAC §129.21(a ) 5

Teacher Reporting Responsibilities  Attendance will be taken/reported on a daily basis per period. (2 nd period) attendance must be taken at official designated snapshot time (9:45 a.m. for elementary and high schools; 10:30 a.m. for middle schools; 9:00 a.m. for Early College High School.) Students will be marked: present, absent, or tardy. Students who are tardy MUST be reported with their time of arrival.  When verifying paper rosters: Use only blue ink. “Never use…pencil, liquid correction fluid, or use a signature stamp” (3.6.1) in any attendance record. Use proper absence reason codes (identified in slide 23). If error is found on verification sheet, change must be made. Strike the error through in red ink. Enter correction(s) and initial as close as possible to the code changed. (3.6.1) 6

Teacher Reporting Responsibilities (cont.)  For student(s), not on roster, teacher must notify attendance office immediately and add name to roster with appropriate attendance code for student’s first day in class.  Every two weeks, teacher will verify attendance coding for her class(teacher verifies and sign off on report, then submits to attendance office). NOTE: For off-campus event/instruction, sponsors/teachers must submit appropriate attendance documentation to the attendance staff before the date of the event, AND submit the list of students who did and did not participate in the event soon after it takes place. 7

Taking /Reporting Attendance: First Day – Second day (max)  First day of school: Teachers will use paper rosters for reporting “attendance”/“no shows”.  Students who are marked “absent” on first day of classes are considered “no shows.” For FSP funding a student is not reported “absent” according to TEA until after the student has been in attendance at least one day. Office staff will identify these students as “no shows.”  The attendance office will identify all “No shows” by using the correct end status and end date (day before school began).  All “no shows” will be identified at the latest by the end of the second day of school (by Aug. 24). 8

Taking /Reporting Attendance  Second day (max third day) and thereafter, teacher reports/submits absences using SchoolMAX on a daily basis and in a timely manner.  “No show” student names still appearing on the system, should be reported to the attendance office immediately.  Teacher will select: present, absent, or tardy. (DO NOT report half day absences.)  Tardy selection MUST include an arrival time. Time child arrived at classroom will determine if the tardy excused or tardy absent will be reported.  Absence notes must be turned in to attendance clerk so they can update the absence reason on system.  “Attendance may not be taken by students, classroom aides, or clerks. Using a “sign-in” sheet to record attendance is not acceptable.” SAAH 3.6 9

Teacher Procedures  Report and submit attendance in SchoolMAX daily and in a timely manner.  Attendance must reflect official ADA snapshot time.  Student will be marked: present, absent, or tardy.  If using a hardcopy roster, submit attendance roster to office immediately after official attendance snapshot time for each period.  After every two week period, verify (Teacher Sign-off Sheet report) attendance data entry.  If no errors found: sign with blue ink, date, and submit to attendance office;  If errors are found: sign with blue ink, date and notify attendance office of changes. A new report will be printed by attendance office after changes are made. Teacher verifies and signs corrected (final) form and returns to attendance office.  If an error is found and change is necessary, after attendance has been submitted, provide administrator and attendance office with supporting documentation for changes requested.  Changes should not be made after end of six weeks, without attendance administrator’s approval and documentation.  If changes are made after the end of the six weeks, a new Principal’s Six Weeks attendance report will be requested, verified, signed and submitted to PEIMS Coordinator’s office. Note: Teachers must maintain student attendance in grade book or keep copy of SchoolMAX roster to verify 2-wk report and for documentation and future audit. 10

Attendance Clerk Responsibilities  Adheres to all laws and regulations.  Transcribes tardy codes and absences or coding information into SchoolMAX (Enterprise) on a daily basis and in a timely manner.  On daily basis, reviews children marked tardy.  If child arrived before ADA snapshot time, the child will just be marked tardy.  If child arrived at school and at the classroom after ADA snapshot time, the child will be marked as a tardy absent.  If the child arrived at the classroom late, but was on campus, and was with responsible campus official (see slide 21, #7), the child will be marked as tardy excused with code CO.  Generates absence summaries and reports as needed.  Signs an affidavit attesting that data entered is true and correct.  Does not make changes, without the approval (in writing) of administrator and or principal.  Assists in verifying the Principal’s Report every six weeks and sends copy to PEIMS coordinator.  And all other responsibilities as defined in job description. In no case should attendance clerks be assigned the responsibility of determining a students coding information. (SAAH, 3.1) 11

Attendance Clerk Procedures Provide (as needed) and collect rosters from teachers after attendance is taken, and inform teachers of the designated time. Make sure all “no shows” are identified and coded correctly after the first day of school. At the latest, this will be done by the end of the second day of school. First school day and everyday thereafter, verify that all teachers have submitted attendance by processing “Attendance not Submitted” report. Run report showing tardy students. If time of arrival is after official ADA snapshot time, student will be marked tardy absent. Provide and collect rosters from substitute teachers. Account for all teachers’ attendance on a daily basis. Transcribe attendance information in a timely manner. On daily basis, review children marked tardy. If child arrived before ADA snapshot time, the child will just be marked tardy. If child arrived at school and at the classroom after ADA snapshot time, the child will be marked as a tardy absent. If the child arrived at the classroom late, but was on campus, and was with responsible campus official (see slide 21, #7), the child will be marked as tardy excused with code CO. Assist in verifying the Principal’s Report every six weeks. Identify truant students for all periods and provide list to attendance officers on a daily basis. SchoolMAX reports available “Comprehensive Attend. Report”, “Attendance Referral Form”, etc… 12 In no case should attendance clerks be assigned the responsibility of determining a students coding information. (SAAH, Sec 3.1)

SchoolMAX Period Attendance Reports The following are several useful reports that can be processed in SchoolMAX on the Reports screen under “Attendance – Daily Use” or “Attendance – General”.  Attendance Not Submitted Report  Period Attendance Data Sheet  Attendance Occurrence Detailed/Summary Report  Two Week Roster  Extended Absence Report 13

Campus Administration Responsibilities Principal and Designee Campus Administration Responsibilities Principal and Designee  Make sure all students have a 2 nd period (secondary) or have a schedule (elementary).  Verify all teachers have submitted attendance in SchoolMax on a daily basis.  Verify that all students with tardy code have been coded accordingly: on or before ADA snapshot time: tardy excused; after ADA snapshot time: tardy absent.  Verify that when attendance rosters are distributed, are collected, updated, and transcribed on a daily/period basis.  Verify all attendance information and reconcile as needed.  Make sure attendance information for off-campus students (i.e. Homebound, General Ed Home Instruction, Compensatory Ed Home Instruction, OSS, VMT, school related activities, etc…) is submitted and reported.  Ensure all 2-week rosters are verified, signed, dated, turned in, and filed.  If teacher requests a change in attendance after 2-week rosters have been submitted, teacher must submit change, explain reason and date it. Administrator will approve or disapprove. If approval for change is given, administrator will also sign request and give to attendance clerk to make change requested. A new Principal’s Report will be run and submitted to PEIMS coordinator. Note: All Principal’s Reports must be kept on file for future audit in accordance with record retention laws. 14

Campus Administrator Responsibilities (Cont.)  Ensure that every six weeks, the Principal’s report is verified for completeness and accuracy, and a signed form is faxed to PEIMS office.  Verify and reconcile all Six weeks Principal’s Reports. Fax signed copies to PEIMS Coordinator. Review and verify attendance data on the Principal’s 6-wks Report (TXPRINRPT) for accuracy and authenticity of campus attendance data.  Principal and Attendance clerk will sign and fax copy of Principal’s 6-wks Report verification sheet to PEIMS Coordinator every 6 weeks. (Student Attendance Accounting Handbook 3.1).  If and when corrections are made after the 6-wks Principal’s report has been printed and verified, new report must be run and new verification sheet must be sent to PEIMS Coordinator to reflect changes.  Approve any necessary changes and retain documentation for audit purposes.  Designate a back-up clerk for reporting attendance in SchoolMAX.  Notify PEIMS Coordinator using District Incident Report form (copy) of all emergency/early release/disaster incidents etc., when attendance is affected. 15

Absence Reason Codes (Used by teachers on attendance roster manual entry) AA bsent at official designated time B Student’s B egin enrollment day (physically in class) NS “ N o S how” to class to be used only the first two days of classes (not to be entered in SchoolMax system) A T T ardy. Student came in after class started (to be used for all periods except 2 nd period. A TA 2 nd period T ardy A bsent: Student came in after official snapshot time. For ADA reporting the student is considered absent. This code will be updated by clerks depending on time of arrival. A TE 2 nd period T ardy E xcused: Student came in after snapshot time but student was with “responsible campus official” (e.g. nurse’s office, counselor’s office, principal’s office…) and provides documentation and can be used with reason provided by TEA in section (3.6.3). (See slide 21, #7) E Student’s E nd enrollment day to class. (withdrawal date) Notes:  If the student is with an “authorized official personnel” during the official attendance time, corrections are made and documentation attached to the attendance roster.  Under no circumstances will tardies “add up to” an absence for ADA reporting.  Tardy codes may have to be noted the day after, if student walks into class after attendance sheets have been turned in to office. 16

2 nd Period TARDY Coding Time / Tardy code Bell rings At 9:15 9:16 – 9:45 9:46 – end of 2 nd period A T (Tardy code) A TA (Absent Code) See next slide for explanation 17 Example: If ADA reporting time is 9:45 : Teacher will code student as tardy if arrived after class started. Tardy absent and Tardy excused codes will be coded by attendance clerks based on time of arrival and reason for not being in class on time.

Student Attendance (3.6.3) With the exception of any reason listed (slides ), students who are absent at the time the attendance snapshot is taken are counted absent for funding purposes. Students present at the time the attendance snapshot is taken are counted present for funding purposes. … 19 TAC §129.21(i)(3) … locally-designed codes may be implemented which indicate: 1. a student arrives late to class but BEFORE ADA snapshot time should be marked tardy and counted present for ADA and FSP purposes (LISD Tardy code: T), or 2. a student arrived late to class and AFTER ADA snapshot time AND was with responsible campus official, the student should be marked late (LISD Absent Codes: TE) (since he/she was not in class at snapshot time) BUT should be given the appropriate reason code: CO. or 3. a student arrived late to class and AFTER ADA snapshot time AND was not on campus until arrived in classroom, should be marked late and will be counted absent for ADA and FSP purposes. (LISD Absent Codes: TA). Adequate documentation must be retained with all other auditable records which indicates the meaning of all locally-designed codes. Proof must be evident that absences for students assigned this code are included in total absences in all attendance reports (Section II). 18

Student Attendance From Student Attendance Accounting Handbook (3.6.3): Students who are ON CAMPUS at the time attendance is taken, but who are not in their assigned classroom, are considered in attendance for FSP purposes provided they were with a responsible campus official (e.g., nurse's office, counselor's office, principal's office, etc.). Class admit slips or other documentation supporting the claim must be retained for audit purposes. (LISD Absent Code: CO) 19

Student Attendance Accounting Handbook (3.6.3) A student NOT ACTUALLY ON CAMPUS at the time attendance is taken may be considered in attendance for FSP purposes under the following conditions. The following LISD absent reason codes do not count as an absence if the absence meets the following criteria : 1.The student is enrolled in and attending an off-campus dual credit program course. (LISD Codes: DC) 2.The student is participating in an activity which is approved by the local school board and is under the direction of a professional staff member of the school district or an adjunct staff member. This adjunct staff member must have a minimum of a bachelor's degree and be eligible for participation in the Teacher Retirement System of Texas. (LISD Codes: FT, OB, SA,OS) 3.The student is participating in a mentorship approved by district personnel to serve as one or more of the advanced measures needed to complete the Distinguished Achievement Program outlined in 19 TAC §74.13(a)(3). (LISD Code: SA) 4.The student is a Medicaid-eligible child participating in the Early and Periodic Screening, Diagnosis, and Treatment Programs (EPSDT) implemented by the Texas Department of Human Services with contractual cooperation of the Texas Department of Health. Such students may be excused for up to one day at a time without loss of ADA. (LISD Codes: D) 20

Student Attendance Accounting Handbook (cont.) 5.The student misses school for the purpose of observing religious holy days, including traveling for that purpose. Travel days for which the student is considered in attendance shall be limited to not more than one day for travel to and one day for travel from the site where the student will observe the holy days. A school district may elect to excuse additional travel days, however, the student would be considered to be absent for the additional travel days for attendance accounting purposes. (LISD Code: R) 6.The student in grades 6 through 12 misses school for the purpose of sounding “Taps” at a military honors funeral …. (LISD Code: TP ) 7.The student misses school for the purpose of attending a required court appearance… A court appearance is considered to be required if the law (federal or state) or the court mandates an appearance by the student in a criminal, civil, or traffic matter. Acceptable forms of documentation may be a copy of a pleading or other document filed with the court, a notice from the county clerk regarding a hearing or trial date, a jury summons, or a subpoena, etc … ( LISD Code: CA or OC (truancy) ) 8.The student misses school for the purpose of serving as an election clerk, including traveling for that purpose. Student must meet eligibility requirements for an election clerk. (LISD Code: EC) 21

Student Attendance Accounting Handbook (cont.) 9.The student misses school for the purpose of appearing at a governmental office to complete paperwork required in connection with the student’s application for US citizenship, including traveling (1 day to and 1 day from) for that purpose. (LISD Code: C) 10.The student misses school for the purpose of taking part in a US naturalization oath ceremony, including traveling (1 day to and 1 day from) for that purpose. (LISD code: N) 11.The student is temporarily absent due to a documented appointment with a health care professional. To be considered temporarily absent, the student MUST begin classes or return to school on the same day of the appointment. The appointment should be supported by a document such as a note from the health care professional. 19 TAC §129.21(k), TEC §25.087(b)( 1)A (LISD Code: D) 12.The student is in his/her junior or senior year of high school and misses school for the purpose of visiting an institution of higher education to determine the student’s interest in attending the institution. (LISD code: VC) 22

Absence Reason Codes (Used by Attendance Office) 23

Attendance Procedures for TAKS Modified Schedule Days (when ADA snapshot time is different)  Attendance will be taken at every period that is met on TAKS test day.  Students present at designated afternoon ADA time (1:45 or 2:00) will be marked present. Students not in class at designated ADA time will be marked absent by teacher. Students whose names are on the list of those who are still testing will be marked OT by office based on list given.  A list of students still testing at ADA reporting time, will be identified and list must be sent to attendance to be marked : (LISD Code: OT)  Attendance for ADA will be taken at a designated time AND must be reported as 2 nd period attendance (for ADA) also.  Additional procedures will be addressed before the test administrations. 24

Reporting Truancy: 425 Discipline Incident  Reported as a 425 (Discipline Incident) Record. Attendance staff must work closely with truant officers and court coordinators. Incidents that meet criteria will be reported in SchoolMAX in a timely manner.  Student taken to court and only when a judgment was made will the incident be reported to TEA.  Action reason codes:  42 Truancy – Parent contributing to truancy TEC§25.093(a)  43 Truancy – Student with at least 3 unexcused absences TEC§  44 Truancy – Student with at least 10 unexcused absences TEC§  45 Truancy – Student failed to enroll TEC§  Action codes:  16 Truancy charges filed in Juvenile Municipal court or Justice of the Peace court and fine was assessed  17 Truancy charges filed in Juvenile Municipal court or Justice of the Peace court and no fine was assessed NOTE: DO NOT use In School Suspension as an action code. To verify data ask for: Truancy report # DI

How do absences impact us?  Instructional: Students are not in class learning.  Funding: ADA funding is not “earned”.  AYP/AEIS: Affects campus rating. 26

Are YOU:  Taking attendance at the designated snapshot time?  Making corrections on miscodes?  Reporting truant students? 27

Questions / Concerns  Student Services Division: Connie Vela ( )  Attendance/Truancy: Jose Gamez ( )  SchoolMAX: Amanda L. Garcia ( )  PEIMS coding: Ofilia Chapa ( ) 28