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2017 Tennessee Code
Title 49 - Education
Chapter 6 - Elementary and Secondary Education
Part 30 - Attendance
§ 49-6-3009. Penalty for violations -- Alternative to prosecution -- Truancy. [Effective on July 1, 2018. See the version effective until July 1, 2018.]
Universal Citation: TN Code § 49-6-3009 (2017)
- (a) Any parent, guardian or other person who has control of a child, or children, and who violates this part commits educational neglect, which shall be a Class C misdemeanor.
- (b) Each day's unlawful absence constitutes a separate offense.
- (c) As an alternative to the filing of a truancy petition or for criminal prosecution for educational neglect, a director of schools or attendance supervisor shall devise and recommend, and the school board shall adopt, progressive truancy interventions for students who violate compulsory attendance requirements. These interventions must be designed to address student conduct related to truancy in the school setting and minimize the need for referrals to juvenile court.
- (d) Progressive truancy interventions adopted by a school district pursuant to subsection (c) shall be applied prior to referral to juvenile court for the conduct described in § 49-6-3007 and shall meet the following requirements:
- (1) The first tier of progressive truancy interventions is triggered by at least three (3) unexcused absences within a school year;
- (2) The first tier of progressive truancy interventions must include, at a minimum:
- (A) A conference with the student and the student's parent or guardian;
- (B) A resulting attendance contract to be signed by the student, the student's parent or guardian, and an attendance officer, which shall include:
- (i) A specific description of the school's attendance expectations for the child;
- (ii) The period for which the contract is effective, not to exceed ninety (90) school days, or the last day of the semester after the date the contract becomes effective, whichever comes first; and
- (iii) Penalties for additional absences and alleged school offenses, including additional disciplinary action and potential referral to juvenile court; and
- (C) Regularly scheduled follow-up meetings to discuss the student's progress;
- (3) The progressive truancy interventions shall include, in addition to the first tier, at least two (2) additional tiers of interventions that are applied if the student accumulates additional unexcused absences in violation of the attendance contract;
- (4) At least one (1) tier shall include an individualized assessment by a school employee of the reasons a student has been absent from school, and if necessary, referral of the child to counseling, community-based services, or other in-school or out-of-school services aimed at addressing the student's attendance problems;
- (5) Additional interventions may consist of one (1) or more of the following:
- (A) School-based community services;
- (B) Participation in a school-based restorative justice program;
- (C) Referral to a school-based teen court; or
- (D) Saturday courses designed to improve attendance and behavior;
- (6) In-school suspension or out-of-school suspension shall not be used as part of the progressive truancy interventions adopted by schools for unexcused absences from class or school; and
- (7) A referral made under subdivisions (d)(1)-(5) may include participation by the child's parent or guardian if necessary.
- (e) Each referral to juvenile court for conduct described in § 49-6-3007(f) and § 49-6-3007(i)(4)(D) shall be accompanied by a statement from the student's school certifying that:
- (1) The school applied the progressive truancy interventions adopted under subsection (d) to the student; and
- (2) The progressive truancy interventions failed to meaningfully address the student's school attendance.
- (f) A court shall dismiss a complaint or referral made by a school district under this section that is not made in compliance with subsection (e).
- (g) Each intervention program shall report school attendance of program participants to the director of schools or the attendance supervisor in the year following the intervention.
- (h) Notwithstanding any other law, each LEA having previously adopted an effective progressive truancy intervention program that substantially conforms to the provisions of this section may present such intervention program to the commissioner of education for approval in lieu of strict compliance with the provisions specified herein.
- (i) Each head of school of a private or parochial school shall recommend, and the board of the school shall adopt, a policy addressing compulsory attendance and truancy that describes the interventions that such school shall employ for violations of the compulsory attendance laws. Such policy shall contain a provision that the director of schools or the attendance supervisor in the system where the child's home of record is located shall be notified in the event that a student at such private or parochial school is expelled or withdraws from school.
- (j) Parents, guardians or other persons having control of a child who is required to attend remedial instruction under § 49-6-3021 commit educational neglect as defined in subsection (a), if the child is truant from the instruction.
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