What is truancy?
Students are truant when they are absent from school without good reason or without permission from home or school. Students who stay out of school frequently become potential dropouts.
What is school absenteeism?
School absenteeism includes all excused and unexcused forms of non-attendance such students who are: truant, suspended or expelled, delinquent, chronically ill, pregnant, runaway, tardy, and students who belong in school but have never been enrolled or attended.
Learn about Louisiana’s attendance requirements here: https://www.louisianabelieves.com/courses/attendance-requirements
Louisiana Revised Statute 17:221 http://legis.la.gov/Legis/Law.aspx?d=80276
Students must attend school between seven and 18 years of age. Any student below the age of seven who legally enrolls in school shall also be subject to compulsory attendance. Students 16 years old or under age 18 may exit school but must enroll in an alternative education program or enroll in a vocational technical program under certain conditions of a waiver applied for by the parent or guardian. The superintendent or a designee must approve this waiver.
Students may be excused for the following reasons:
Written statements from a parent, legal guardian or physician stating a reason for the absences shall be submitted to proper school personnel within five (5) school days after the student returns to school. The number of parental notes for absences is limited to five (5) per semester. A parent note will be marked as unexcused/parent note (UNXPN) in the database which will generate an investigation by CWA if the parent notes exceed five.