Fall Legal Lab

Attendance, Truancy, and Chronic Absenteeism
Stay on top of the latest developments regarding student attendance, truancy, and chronic absenteeism since the Governor signed SF 2435 into law this past spring. 

SAI’s Legal Services Director Matt Carver will lead participants through a discussion concerning a variety of applicable scenarios, as well as present an overview of pertinent state and federal law on these important topics. 

Participants will leave the legal lab with answers to the following questions, as well as many more:

• How and when does truancy apply to kindergarten and preschool students?
• What are some effective interventions when students are chronically absent?
• What authority do school officials have when students are beyond compulsory attendance age?
• How might schools define “legitimate medical reasons”?
• In what instances might IEPs and 504 Plans affect a child’s attendance?
• When may school officials count students as “present”?

Prohibited Books, Student Threats, and other Recent Legislation
During the other portion of the Legal Lab, Matt will cover many of the issues surrounding hot topics from the last two legislative sessions, to include a series of scenarios and a presentation concerning prohibited books, working through issues regarding student threats and violence, and some other top topics from his recent calls.

Some of the questions to be answered during this portion of the Lab include:

• How do school officials go about determining whether material in a book is “age-appropriate”?
• How does the law apply and what have been some issues raised regarding a teacher’s use of their personal book collection in the classroom?
• What materials must the school include on its list of reading materials?
• What are legal requirements when a teacher overhears a student make a threat in the classroom?
• What options does a school have to discipline a student who has made threats or acted violently? What student characteristics impact these options?
• What are best practices when school officials are attempting to determine whether or not to provide a press release to parents or the community regarding an alleged student threat or other student behavior?