Truancy

Missing school means missing valuable learning and development opportunities.While valid reasons for absences exist—such as illness, health conditions, or housing instability—frequent absences disrupt a child's education. In these situations, parents can partner with the school to create a plan that ensures continuous learning.

Occasional absences can quickly accumulate, significantly impacting foundational skills in reading, writing, and math. Missing key instruction creates gaps in understanding that make advanced topics harder to master. In elementary school, frequent absences hinder core skill development, while in high school, they risk course credit loss.

Under updated state law, school districts must meet with parents of elementary students who accumulate 5 or more excused absences in a month or 10 or more excused absences in a school year. These meetings provide an opportunity to identify additional student supports.

Meetings are not required if a doctor's note and learning plan are already on file. For students with an existing IEP or Section 504 Plan, the designated team will participate in the meeting.

For more information on attendance rules and resources to support regular attendance, visit the Washington Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) website: Attendance, Chronic Absenteeism, & Truancy

A parent can face a court hearing, and possible fines or community service if a child is truant, and continues to be truant after being referred to court.

After 2 unexcused absences in a month the school should schedule a conference with you and your child, and might do an assessment with your child to try to find what is causing the absences.

If a student has 5 unexcused absences in a month, the district must either:

• Make an agreement with the parent and student to set attendance requirements,
• Refer the student to a community truancy board that will make an agreement with the student and parent; or
• File a petition with the juvenile court.

If a student has 7 unexcused absences in a month, or 10 in a year, even after the district has taken steps to try to reduce absences, then the law says the district must file a petition with the juvenile court against the parent, the student, or both.  

When the court gets the petition, it generally won’t move forward immediately. First, it will “stay” or hold the petition while the student and parent are referred to a community truancy board (if one is available).

If the community truancy board doesn’t reach an agreement with the parent and student, or if the parent or student doesn’t comply within the time set, then the case goes back to the juvenile court. The court will schedule a hearing.

If a court finds that a parent failed to ensure their child attends school as required, the court can order the parent to:

• Pay a fine of not more than $25 for each day of unexcused absence; or
• Do community service.

A parent can avoid the fines by showing that the school didn’t follow its duties to notify, meet or work with the parent and student to reduce absences, or by attending a conference to address the reasons for the absences and participating with the school and student in a supervised plan for attendance.

Excused absences include:

• Participation in a school approved activity (e.g. sports, drama, community service)
• Illness, health condition, medical appointment
• Family emergency (including death or illness)
• Religious or cultural observance, including a holiday or instruction
• Court proceeding, or serving on a jury
• Post-high school apprenticeship program visit or scholarship interview
• Search and rescue activities
• Absences related to a student’s homelessness;
• Absences related to a deployment of an active duty parent or guardian
• Suspension or expulsion
• Activity agreed and approved by principal and parent

Generally, the school principal will decide if an absence meets the criteria for being excused or not. For example, sometimes a parent may call to say a child is sick and should be excused. A principal might ask the parent to provide a doctor’s note or ask for more detail before agreeing that the absence is excused.

If you disagree with the Principal’s decision you can ask to meet to discuss the issue, or ask to speak to someone at the District-level about your concerns.

• Notify parents of the attendance rules and get a signature to show they received the notice 
• Notify parents every time a student is absent,
• Meet with parents and students to find out why,
• Try different strategies to improve attendance, and in some cases,
• Refer a student and parent to a Community Truancy Board or to court.

Washington’s “compulsory attendance law” starts at age 8. Parents can choose whether or not to send their younger children to school.

If a parent decides to enroll a child who is 6 or 7, then the student must attend school regularly, on time, unless there is a valid excuse (or the parent decides to remove them from school).

And remember, children have a right to access free public school starting at age 5!

If a child is 16 or older AND is regularly employed, or the parent agrees the child should not be required to attend school, or the child is emancipated, has already met graduation requirements or has received a GED, then the child is not required to continue to attend school.

Remember, youth have a right to access free public school until they are 21 years old, or until they graduate.  There are an increasing number of options for youth who are looking for alternatives to a traditional high school but still want a high school diploma. You can find information about options for older youth at OSPI’s Graduation Team website

OSPI's Graduation Team Website

Illness is a valid reason for an absence. Students should be granted the opportunity to complete makeup work without academic penalty. However, frequent absences for any reason make it challenging to stay on track. If a student experiences recurring health issues, parents and guardians can collaborate with the school to develop alternative learning strategies outside the classroom.

Students unable to attend school for four or more weeks due to a physical or mental health condition may qualify for Home/Hospital Instruction

For extended or intermittent absences, an evaluation may be conducted to provide tailored support through an Individualized Education Program (IEP) or a Section 504 Plan.

Home/Hospital Instruction

A Community Engagement Board (CEB) is a partnership between the juvenile court and our school district. We are not a court, nor are we here to judge. Instead, we work with families who are on the cusp of legal consequences, with the goal of preventing them from ever having to step into a courtroom.

Our board's mission is simple: to listen, problem-solve, and support students and families. Rather than viewing attendance issues as a disciplinary matter, we serve as a bridge to help families identify root challenges. We work together to connect families with tailored resources, mental health services, or custom learning pathways.

The true strength of a Community Engagement Board comes from our diverse background and experiences. Every member brings a valuable lens—whether as a parent, educator, community advocate, or mentor. By pooling our perspectives, we uncover creative, empathetic solutions that a single individual might miss. Ultimately, we are here to empower students, resolve obstacles, and foster a welcoming space where every family feels seen, respected, and understood.

WSD Community Engagement Board Liaison 

Tom Couey
Director of Safety & Security

Email