P1460 Student Attendance

Regular school attendance is required of all students enrolled in elementary and secondary schools under the Kansas compulsory attendance statute (K.S.A. 72-3120). The Kansas compulsory school attendance law makes parents responsible for requiring a child under their control or charge who is at least seven (7) and under eighteen (18) years of age attend school on a continuous basis, unless the child has attained a high school diploma or a general educational development (“GED”) credential. 

Administrative Implemental Procedures

1. As used herein, the term "parent", except for parents of exceptional children, means and includes natural parents, adoptive parents, stepparents, and foster parents. The term "person acting as a parent" means (A) a guardian or conservator, or (B) a person, other than a parent, (1) who is liable by law to maintain, care for or support the child, or (2) who has actual care and control of the child and is contributing the major portion of the cost of support of the child, or (3) who has actual care and control of the child with the written consent of a person who has legal custody of the child, or (4) who has been granted legal custody of the child by a court of competent jurisdiction. 
2. Except as otherwise stated in AIP #7, the parent or a person acting as a parent is obligated by the Kansas compulsory school attendance law to require a child under their control or charge who is between the ages of seven (7) years and eighteen (18) years to attend a public or non-public school continuously each school year, unless the child has attained a high school diploma or GED credential. 
3. The parent or person acting as a parent of a student enrolled in a district school must notify the school the student attends either by telephone, letter, or in person when a student is absent. Notification should be made prior to the absence and must be made no later than 72 hours after the date of the absence. Failure to notify the school will result in the absence being recorded as unexcused. 
4. Students under eighteen (18) years of age who have attained a high school diploma or a GED credential are not required by the Kansas compulsory school attendance law to attend school. 
5. By written consent, a parent or person acting as a parent may withdraw a student who is sixteen (16) or seventeen (17) years of age from school when one of the following procedures has been completed: 
   1. The student is regularly enrolled in and attending a program recognized by the local board of education as an approved alternative educational program; or 
   2. The school administration has conducted a final counseling session, attended by the student and the parent or person acting as a parent, during which the student and the parent or person acting as a parent signed a disclaimer encouraging the student to remain in school or pursue educational alternatives. The disclaimer shall specify the academic skills the student has not yet achieved, the difference in future earning power between a high school graduate and a high school dropout, and list educational alternatives available for the student; or 
   3. The student is regularly enrolled in a public school or a private, denominational, or parochial school which is maintained in the district and is concurrently enrolled in a postsecondary educational institution. 
   4. A student sixteen (16) or seventeen (17) years of age who has withdrawn from school in compliance with subsections a, b, or c of this AIP is not required by the Kansas compulsory school attendance law to attend school.  
6. Any student under the age of seven (7) years who is enrolled in school, is subject to compulsory attendance requirements. Any student less than seven (7) years of age may be withdrawn from enrollment in school at any time by a parent or person acting as a parent and is not required by the Kansas compulsory school attendance law to attend school until the student reaches the age of seven (7) years or is re-enrolled in school. 
7. Any student determined to be an exceptional child under the provisions of the Special Education for Exceptional Children Act and amendments thereto, is exempt from the Kansas compulsory school attendance law. 
   1. Under K.S.A. 72-3421, parents of a student determined to be an exceptional child must require such child to attend school to receive the special education and related services which are indicated on the student’s Individual Education Program, or must provide for such services privately. For the purposes of this AIP, "school age" means an exceptional child, other than a gifted child, having attained three (3) years of age through the school year in which such child completes a local curriculum or reaches age 21, whichever occurs first. The terms "parent" and "person acting as parent" shall have the meanings set forth at K.S.A. 72-3404 and amendments thereto. 
8. Under the Interstate Compact on Educational Opportunity for Military Children, Wichita Public Schools may grant up to five (5) days excused absences per school year for a military-connected student whose parent or legal guardian is an active duty, Guard or Reserve member of the military who has been called to duty for, is on leave from, or is immediately returned from deployment to a combat zone or combat support posting.  The conditions under which USD 259 schools may approve excused absences are: (1) the absence is preapproved; (2) the student is in good standing; (3) the student has a prior record of good attendance; (4) missed work is completed and turned in within the school’s allotted time period; and (5) the absence is not during standardized testing dates.   

Administrative Responsibility: Learning Services 

Latest Revision Date: June 2011 

Previous Revision Date: July 2007 P1460 

Updated administratively for alignment purposes: January 2021

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