Children in the District community will be allowed to enroll in the District's regular education program beginning at age five. The child must be age five on or prior to September 15 to participate in the District's kindergarten program. The child must be age six on or prior to September 15 to begin the first grade of the education program.

Children will be allowed to enroll in the statewide preschool program beginning at age four. The child must be age four on or prior to September 15 to participate in the statewide preschool program.

The Board will require evidence of age and residency in the form of a birth certificate or other evidence before the student may enroll in the District's education program. It is within the discretion of the Superintendent to determine what is satisfactory evidence for proof of age.

Prior to enrollment, the child must provide the administration with their health and immunization certificate. Failure to provide this information within the time period set by the Superintendent is reason for suspension, expulsion or denying admission to the student. An exception to this would be a homeless student.

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1.  Objectives

Attendance is a critical factor in school success for students. Studies have shown that consistent school attendance, academic success, and school completion have a positive correlation. The educational process requires continuity of instruction and students need to experience classroom discussions, debate, and independent study in order to increase achievement. Regular participation in classroom activities fosters critical thinking, communication skills, and responsibility, all of which are essential skills for future employment. Good attendance in school is also part of the self-discipline that we try to instill in our students to enable them to act as responsible members of the community.

The purpose of the District’s Attendance policy is to ensure the maintenance of an adequate record of verifying the attendance of all students during days of instruction and to establish a mechanism by which the patterns of student absence can be examined to develop effective intervention strategies. The goal of this procedure is for each school to know the whereabouts of every student for safety and school management reasons and to help students succeed at meeting the Iowa State learning standards.

Parents are expected to make sure that their children attend school on a regular basis. Attendance for continuous remote learning is required as included in the District's Return to Learn Plan, in consideration of age and content area, understanding that some work is done without synchronous computer connection. To implement a successful attendance policy, we need the cooperation of all members of the educational community, including parents, students, teachers, administrators, and support staff. Through the implementation of this policy the District expects to reduce the level of unexcused absences, tardiness, and unexcused early dismissals.

2. General Procedures

Each absence, instance of tardiness, and early dismissal will be recorded as excused or unexcused along with a code noting specific reason therefor. Excused absences are defined as: an absence due to personal illness, medical appointments that cannot be scheduled at another time, illness or death in the family, religious observance, quarantine (however, if participation in continous remote learning is appropriate during the quarantine, attendance will be in compliance with the District's Return to Learn Plan and will not be counted as an absence), required court appearances, approved college visits, approved cooperative work programs, or military obligations, or pre- approved family vacations. All other absences, tardiness, or early dismissals will be considered unexcused.

Any absence, tardiness, or early dismissal must be accounted for. It is the parent’s responsibility to call or email the school. A written note may be required by the building Principal. Each day a student is absent, a phone call from the parent is requested; however, all absences will be recorded as unexcused until a parent contact is made to the building office. At the secondary level it is the student’s responsibility to provide documentation for all in-school appointments that will prevent a student from attending class prior to dismissal from class.

When a student is out of school for 10 or more consecutive days or is hospitalized for any period of time, the parent or guardian must contact the health office prior to the student returning to school to set up a re-entry interview.

Parents will be notified by phone if their child is absent, late, or departs early from school. Any absence which occurs without parental knowledge will be classified as unexcused. 

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Approved: Reviewed: 7/11/16                                Reviewed:                                                           Revised: 5/13/13; 7/11/16; 6/10/19; 8/10/20

Students will be allowed to leave District facilities during school hours only with prior authorization from their parents, unless the parent appears personally at the student's attendance center to arrange for the release of the student during school hours, or with the permission of the principal.

Approved reasons for release of a student during the school day will include, but not be limited to, illness, family emergencies, medical appointments, religious instruction, classes outside the student's attendance center, employment for which the student has been issued a work permit and other reasons determined appropriate by the principal.

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The Superintendent/designee shall have the authority to close schools because of extreme weather or other emergency conditions for the length of time the condition exists. The Superintendent/designee shall make provisions to publicly announce such closings via available mass communication media as soon as possible after the decision to close. Every reasonable effort shall be made to have students attend the total amount of school days or hours annually as specified by statue, state departmental rules, the district's Return to Learn plan, and local school board policy.

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Resident Students

Children who are residents of the District community will attend the District without paying tuition.

The residence of a student means the place, abode, or dwelling of the student. Generally, the legal dwelling of minors is the same as their parents. A student may establish a dwelling with someone other than the parents and attend public school in the District without paying tuition if the primary purpose for residing in the District is not for the purpose of obtaining a free public education. Further, students who have reached the age of majority and who are still eligible to attend an Iowa secondary school may declare their residence independent of the residence of the parents.

Each case involving the bona fide residence of a student will be decided upon its individual merits by the Superintendent.

Students who have attained legal age may continue the education program without payment of tuition as long as they are eligible to attend an Iowa public school and are residents of the school District.

Non-Resident Students

Students who are eligible to attend an Iowa public school but who are not legal residents of the District may be admitted into the District at the discretion of the Superintendent upon application and payment of tuition. The tuition rate is the current per-pupil cost of the District as computed by the board secretary and as authorized by the Iowa Department of Education.

Resident students whose families move from the District after the start of a semester and who wish to complete the semester in the District may be permitted to attend without the payment of tuition at the discretion of the Superintendent and approval of the Board. Students who plan to open enroll to the nonresident district may complete the school year without approval of the Superintendent or Board. These students, other than students in grades eleven and twelve, must have the recommendation of the principal.

Students in grades eleven or twelve who are no longer residents of the District, but were residents in the District the preceding school year, may continue to attend school until they graduate without the payment of tuition. These students may be required to identify an adult, who resides in the District, identified for purposes of administration.

Nonresident students who are eligible to attend an Iowa public school and who have evidence they will become legal residents of the District prior to the third Friday in September may be allowed to attend without the payment of tuition.

International Students

Qualified international students may be enrolled and attend school without charge, if they are recommended by the American Field Service or an approved local organization and reside within the boundaries of this District. Proper I-20 forms and/or any other required papers must be submitted to and processed by the District, the student, and the sponsoring organization before an international student can be formally admitted to school.

The District will allow a maximum of three (3) international students per year. The Superintendent has the right to suspend or cancel the privilege of an international student attending school within the District. Organizations not cooperating or not fulfilling their responsibilities on behalf of the international students could also result in termination of the student’s privilege to attend school.

Programs or activities for which foreign exchange students are not eligible are: Driver Education and National Honor Society.

For those items not specifically mentioned above, a foreign exchange student has the same rights and responsibilities as all other students.

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The Board will make reasonable efforts to identify homeless children and youth of school age within the district, encourage their enrollment and eliminate existing barriers to their receiving an education which may exist in District policies or practices. The designated coordinator for identification of homeless children and for tracking and monitoring programs and activities for these children is the Superintendent or the Superintendent’s designee.

“Homeless child or youth” is defined as a child or youth from the age of 3 years through 21 years who lacks a fixed, regular, and adequate night-time residence and includes the following:

1. A child or youth who is sharing the housing of other persons due to loss of housing, economic hardship, or a similar reason; is living in a motel, hotel, trailer park, or camping grounds due to the lack of alternative adequate accommodations; is living in an emergency or transitional shelter; is abandoned in a hospital; or is awaiting foster care placement;

2. A child or youth who has a primary nighttime residence that is a public or private place not designed for or ordinarily used as a regular sleeping accommodation for human beings;

3. A child or youth who is living in a car, park, public space, abandoned building, substandard housing, bus or train station, or similar setting; or

4. A migratory child or youth who qualifies as homeless because the child or youth is living in circumstances described in paragraphs “1” through “3” above.

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Transfers Into the District

A student's parents or a student may transfer the student into the District. Students who transfer into the District must meet the immunization and age requirements set out for students who initially enroll in the District.

The school district will request the student's cumulative records from the previous school district. If the student cannot offer proof of grade level, the Superintendent and/or designee will make the grade level determination. The Superintendent and/or designee may require testing or other information to determine the grade level. Students expelled or suspended from their previous school district will only be enrolled after approval of the Board.

The Superintendent and/or designee shall determine the amount of credits to be transferred. If the student has not previously attended an accredited school, the Superintendent and/or designee may not accept credits. A student not attending grades 9 through 11 at an accredited school shall be unranked for class ranking purposes.

The Board may deny admission if the student is not willing to provide the Board with the required information.

Any student declared ineligible under the prior school district's Good Conduct Code, and then, without having completed the full period of ineligibility at that school, transfers to the high school, will not be eligible for interscholastic competition at the high school until the full period of ineligibility has been completed. Once that time period of ineligibility has been completed, the student is then immediately eligible for interscholastic competition as far as any Good Conduct Rule is concerned.

Transfers Out of the District

A student's parents or a student may withdraw or transfer the student from school prior to completing and graduating from the education program. The student or parent should notify the building principal in writing as soon as possible of the decision to withdraw or transfer the student from the education program. The notice shall state the student's final day of attendance. The student or parent should present this written notice at the building office and receive instructions regarding the return of textbooks, library books, locker equipment, etc..

If the student is not enrolling in another school district, the District will maintain the student's records in the same manner as the records of students who have graduated from the District.

If the parents wish to have the student's cumulative record sent to the new school district, the parents must notify the building principal in writing. This notice will include the name of the school district and the person at the new school district to whom the student's cumulative records should be sent. If the new school district requests the student's cumulative records, the school district will forward the cumulative records and notify the parents the records have been sent. The notice will inform the parents of their right to review the records sent.

If the student is of compulsory education age and not transferring to another public school district or an accredited nonpublic school, the parents will notify the building principal that the student is receiving competent private instruction and file the necessary competent private instruction reports.

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Procedures as a Sending District

The District will participate in open enrollment as a sending district. As a sending district, the Board will allow resident students to open enroll to another public school district.

Parents requesting open enrollment out of District for their student will notify the sending and receiving school no later than March 1 in the school year preceding the first year desired for open enrollment. The notice shall be made on forms provided by the Department of Education. The forms are available at the district office.

Parents of children who will begin kindergarten in the District are exempt from the open enrollment March 1 deadline. Parents of children who will begin kindergarten will file in the same manner set forth above by September 1. Parents who have good cause as defined by law for failing to meet the March 1 deadline may make an open enrollment request by September 30 unless another deadline applies.

The receiving district will approve open enrollment requests according to the timelines established by law. The parents may withdraw the open enrollment request prior to the start of the school year. The receiving district’s Superintendent will notify the parents and sending school district by mail within five days of the District’s action to approve or deny the open enrollment request.

The Board may approve a student's request to allow the receiving district to enter the District for the purposes of transportation.

An open enrollment request out of the District from parents of a special education student is reviewed on a case-by-case basis. The determining factor for approval of such an open enrollment request will be whether the special education program available in the receiving school district is appropriate for the student's needs. The area education agency director of special education serving the receiving district will determine whether the program is appropriate. The special education student will remain in the District until the final determination is made.

It is the responsibility of the Superintendent to maintain open enrollment request applications and notice forms.

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Procedures as a Receiving District

The District will participate in open enrollment as a receiving district. As a receiving district, the Board will allow non-resident students, who meet the legal requirements, to open enroll into the District. The Board will have complete discretion to determine the attendance center of the students attending the District under open enrollment.

The Superintendent will approve timely filed applications by June 1; incoming kindergarten applications; good cause application; or continuation of an educational program application filed by September 1.

The Superintendent will notify the sending school district and parents within five days of the District’s action to approve or deny the open enrollment request. The Superintendent will also forward a copy of the District’s action with a copy of the open enrollment request to the Iowa Department of Education.

Open enrollment requests into the District will not be approved if insufficient classroom space exists. Insufficient classroom space exists when conditions adversely affect the implementation of the educational philosophy and program of the Board. The Board shall determine insufficient classroom space on a case-by-case basis. Criteria to be used by the Board in its determination may include, but not be limited to, available personnel, grade level, educational program, instructional method, physical space, equipment and materials available, finances available, facilities either being planned or currently under consideration, sharing agreements in force, and District goals and objectives.

Open enrollment requests into the District will also not be approved for students who have been suspended or expelled by the administration or the board of the school district the student is or was attending until the student has been reinstated into the school district from which the student was suspended or expelled. Once the student is reinstated, the student's open enrollment request will be considered in the same manner as other open enrollment requests provided the required timelines are met.

Open enrollment requests into the District that, if denied, would result in students from the same nuclear family being enrolled in different school districts, will be given highest priority. The Board, in its discretion, may waive the insufficient classroom space reason for denial for students of the same nuclear family to prevent the division of a nuclear family between two school districts. Other open enrollment requests into the District are considered in the order received by the District with the first open enrollment request given a higher priority than the second open enrollment request and so forth.

Generally, students in grades nine through twelve open enrolling into the District will not be eligible for participation in interscholastic athletics, at the varsity level, during the first ninety days of open enrollment into the District.

Parents of students whose open enrollment requests are approved by the Board or Superintendent are responsible for providing transportation to and from the receiving school district without reimbursement unless the parents qualify for transportation assistance. Upon a parent's request, the Board may approve transportation into the sending district. (The transportation is limited to within 2 miles of the District boundary/current bus route.) The Board's approval is subject to the sending district's approval.

An open enrollment request into the school district from parents of a special education student is reviewed on a case-by-case basis. The determining factors for approval of such an open enrollment request will be whether the special education program available in the District is appropriate for the student's needs and whether the enrollment of the special education student will cause the class size to exceed the maximum allowed. The area education agency director of special education serving the District will determine whether the program is appropriate. The special education student will remain in the sending district until the final determination is made.

The policies of the District will apply to students attending the District under open enrollment.

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Parents within the school district who have children over age four (4) and enrolled in the statewide preschool program, over age five (5) and enrolled in the District’s kindergarten program, or over age six (6) and under age sixteen (16) by September 15 and in proper physical and mental condition to attend school, will have the children attend the school District at the attendance center designated by the Board. If the student's classroom or attendance center transitions to required continous learning opportunities included in the district's approved Return to Learn Plan, the student's participation is required. The superintendent may include in the district's approved Return to Learn plan an option for parents or guardians who prefer to have students participate in required continuous learning. An enrolled student who does not participate in compulsory remote-learning opportunities offered by the school district during a period of school closure implemented any time during the school year beginning July 1, 2020, and ending June 20, 2021, due to the COVID -19 pandemic shall be considered truant.

Students shall attend school the number of days school is in session in accordance with the school calendar. Students of compulsory attendance age will attend school a minimum of required minutes/days school is in session or in the case of Preschool or kindergarten, students will attend school a minimum of scheduled days in session.

Students over age four (4) on September 15 and enrolled in the statewide preschool program and students over age five (5) on September 15 and enrolled in the District’s kindergarten program, may not attend the minimum days only if the student’s parent notifies the District in writing of the parent’s intent to remove the child from the preschool program and/or from enrollment in the District.

Students of compulsory attendance age, students over age six (6) and under age sixteen (16) on September 15, may not attend the minimum days only if the student falls into one of the following exemptions:

• have completed the requirements for graduation in an accredited school or have

  obtained a high school equivalency diploma;

• is attending religious services or receiving religious instruction;

• is attending an approved or probationally approved private college preparatory school;

• is attending an accredited nonpublic school;

• is receiving competent private instruction; or

• is subject to the Attendance Cooperation Process.

It is the responsibility of the parent/guardian of a child to provide evidence of the child's mental and physical inability to attend school or of the child's qualifications for one of the exceptions listed above.

The principal will investigate the cause for a student's truancy. If the principal is unable to secure the truant student's attendance, the principal will refer the matter over to the county attorney.

The school will participate in mediation if requested by the county attorney. The superintendent will represent the school district in mediation. The school district will monitor the student's compliance with the mediation agreement and will report violations of the mediation agreement to the county attorney. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

In the event a child of compulsory attendance age does not attend public school or an accredited non-public school, the child must receive competent private instruction or independent private instruction.

A parent choosing competent private instruction for a student by or under the supervision of a licensed practitioner, competent private instruction for a student by a non-licensed individual or independent private instruction must meet the requirements outlined under Iowa law.

A parent choosing competent private instruction for a student by or under the supervision of a licensed practitioner shall notify the District prior to the first day of school on forms provided by the district. The forms are available in the central administration office. One copy of the completed forms will be kept by the district and another copy will be forwarded to the appropriate Area Education Agency.

A parent choosing competent private instruction for a student by a non-licensed individual may notify the District prior to the first day of school on forms provided by the district. The forms are available in the central administration office. One copy of the completed forms will be kept by the district and another copy will be forwarded to the appropriate Area Education Agency.

A parent choosing independent private instruction for a student may be asked to provide a report identifying the primary instructor, location, name of the authority responsible for the independent instruction, and the names of the students enrolled to the district.

The superintendent or superintendent’s designee will determine whether the completed form or report is in compliance with the law. The district shall report non-compliance with the reporting, immunization, attendance, instructor qualifications, and assessment requirements of the compulsory attendance law to the county attorney of the county of residence of the student's parent, guardian, or custodian.

Students receiving competent private instruction or independent private instruction are eligible to request open enrollment to another district. The receiving district shall not bill the resident district unless the receiving district complies with the reporting requirements. If the parent, guardian, or custodian fails to comply with the compulsory attendance requirements, the receiving district shall notify the resident district. The resident district shall then report the non-compliance to the county attorney of the county of residence of the parent, guardian, or custodian.

Students receiving competent private instruction by or under the supervision of a licensed practitioner must make adequate progress. Students receiving competent private instruction by or under the supervision of a licensed practitioner shall be monitored for progress by the supervising teacher. Students receiving competent private instruction by or under the supervision of a licensed practitioner may be assessed annually. The district will provide any optional assessments at no cost.

Students receiving competent private instruction by a non-licensed individual must make adequate progress. Students receiving competent private instruction by a non-licensed individual shall be evaluated annually by the parent, guardian or legal custodian to ensure adequate progress is being made. Students receiving competent private instruction from a non- licensed individual may be assessed annually. The district will provide any optional assessments at no cost.

Students receiving competent private instruction by or under the supervision of a licensed practitioner and students receiving competent private instruction from a non-licensed individual may dual enroll with the district. Students receiving individual private instruction may not dual enroll with the district.

Upon the request of a parent, guardian, or legal custodian of a student receiving competent private instruction or upon referral of a licensed practitioner who provides instruction or instructional supervision of a student under competent private instruction, the district shall refer a student who may require special education to the appropriate Area Education Agency, Division of Special Education, for evaluation.

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The parent, guardian, or custodian of a student receiving competent private instruction by or under the supervision of a licensed practitioner or by a non-licensed individual may also enroll the student in the district. The student shall be considered under dual enrollment. The parent, guardian or custodian requesting dual enrollment for the student should notify the superintendent prior to October 1st each year on forms provided by the Iowa Department of Education. On the form, the parent, guardian or custodian shall indicate the extracurricular and academic activities in which the student is interested in participating. The forms are available at the district office.

A dual enrollment student is eligible to participate in the district's extracurricular and academic activities in the same manner as other students enrolled in the District. The policies and administrative rules of the District shall apply to the dual enrollment students in the same manner as the other students enrolled in the District. These policies and administrative rules shall include, but not be limited to, athletic eligibility requirements, the good conduct rule, academic eligibility requirements, and payment of the fees required for participation.

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