Connecticut General Statutes
Chapter 168 - School Attendance and Employment of Children
Section 10-198a. - Policies and procedures concerning truants.

(a) For purposes of this section and sections 10-198c and 10-220, “truant” means a child age five to eighteen, inclusive, who is enrolled in a public or private school and has four unexcused absences from school in any one month or ten unexcused absences from school in any school year.

(b) Each local and regional board of education shall adopt and implement policies and procedures concerning truants who are enrolled in schools under the jurisdiction of such board of education. Such policies and procedures shall include, but need not be limited to, the following: (1) The holding of a meeting with the parent of each child who is a truant, or other person having control of such child, and appropriate school personnel to review and evaluate the reasons for the child being a truant, provided such meeting shall be held not later than ten school days after the child's fourth unexcused absence in a month or tenth unexcused absence in a school year, (2) coordinating services with and referrals of children to community agencies providing child and family services, (3) annually at the beginning of the school year and upon any enrollment during the school year, notifying the parent or other person having control of each child enrolled in a grade from kindergarten to eight, inclusive, in the public schools in writing of the obligations of the parent or such other person pursuant to section 10-184, (4) annually at the beginning of the school year and upon any enrollment during the school year, obtaining from the parent or other person having control of each child in a grade from kindergarten to eight, inclusive, a telephone number or other means of contacting such parent or such other person during the school day, (5) (A) on or before August 15, 2018, the implementation of a truancy intervention model identified by the Department of Education pursuant to subsection (a) of section 10-198e for any school under its jurisdiction that has a disproportionately high rate of truancy, as determined by the Commissioner of Education, and (B) on or before September 1, 2023, the adoption and implementation of a truancy intervention model developed by the Department of Education pursuant to subsection (b) of section 10-198e that accounts for mental and behavioral health, or a similar truancy intervention plan that meets all of the requirements for a truancy intervention model set forth in subsection (b) of said section, (6) a system of monitoring individual unexcused absences of children in grades kindergarten to eight, inclusive, which shall provide that whenever a child enrolled in school in any such grade fails to report to school on a regularly scheduled school day and no indication has been received by school personnel that the child's parent or other person having control of the child is aware of the pupil's absence, a reasonable effort to notify, by telephone and by mail, the parent or such other person shall be made by school personnel or volunteers under the direction of school personnel, (7) providing notice to the parent or guardian of a child who is a truant of the information concerning the existence and availability of the 2-1-1 Infoline program, and other pediatric mental and behavioral health screening services and tools described in section 17a-22rt, and (8) on and after July 1, 2023, a requirement that an appropriate school mental health specialist, as defined in section 12 of public act 22-47*, conduct an evaluation of each child who is a truant to determine if additional behavioral health interventions are necessary for the well-being of the child. Any person who, in good faith, gives or fails to give notice pursuant to subdivision (6) of this subsection shall be immune from any liability, civil or criminal, which might otherwise be incurred or imposed and shall have the same immunity with respect to any judicial proceeding which results from such notice or failure to give such notice.
(c) Nothing in subsections (a) and (b) of this section shall preclude a local or regional board of education from adopting policies and procedures pursuant to this section which exceed the requirements of said subsections.
(d) The provisions of this section shall not apply to any child receiving equivalent instruction pursuant to section 10-184.
(e) A child, age five to eighteen, inclusive, who is enrolled in a public or private school and whose parent or legal guardian is an active duty member of the armed forces, as defined in section 27-103, and has been called to duty for, is on leave from or has immediately returned from deployment to a combat zone or combat support posting, shall be granted ten days of excused absences in any school year and, at the discretion of the local or regional board of education, additional excused absences to visit such child's parent or legal guardian with respect to such leave or deployment of the parent or legal guardian. In the case of excused absences pursuant to this subsection, such child and parent or legal guardian shall be responsible for obtaining assignments from the student's teacher prior to any period of excused absence, and for ensuring that such assignments are completed by such child prior to his or her return to school from such period of excused absence.
(P.A. 90-240, S. 1, 6; 90-325, S. 19, 32; P.A. 91-303, S. 4, 22; P.A. 95-182, S. 5, 11; 95-304, S. 2, 9; P.A. 98-243, S. 17, 25; P.A. 00-157, S. 5, 8; P.A. 11-136, S. 16; P.A. 14-198, S. 1; P.A. 15-225, S. 6; P.A. 16-147, S. 8; P.A. 22-47, S. 16.)
*Note: Section 12 of public act 22-47 is special in nature and therefore has not been codified but remains in full force and effect according to its terms.
History: Effective July 1, 1991, pursuant to P.A. 90-325; P.A. 91-303 limited the provisions of the section to children enrolled in a grade from kindergarten to grade eight, inclusive, changed the definition of “habitual truant” in Subsec. (a), inserted new Subsec. (b)(2) requiring coordination of services with and referrals to community agencies providing child and family services and renumbered the remaining Subdivs., added requirement in Subsec. (d) that the reports be on a school by school basis and limited the reports to information on habitual truants rather than children with unexcused absences, and added Subsec. (f) exempting children receiving equivalent instruction from provisions of section; P.A. 95-182 deleted Subsec. (d) re report on habitual truants and relettered remaining Subsecs., effective June 28, 1995; P.A. 95-304 deleted definition of “habitual truant” and references and procedures concerning habitual truants, amended Subsec. (a) to redefine “truant”, amended Subsec. (c) to mandate the reporting by the superintendent if the parent or other person does not attend the meeting or otherwise fails to cooperate, and made technical changes, effective July 1, 1995; P.A. 98-243 amended Subsec. (a) to lower the age from 7 to 5, effective July 1, 1998; P.A. 00-157 amended Subsec. (a) to change “sixteen” to “eighteen”, effective July 1, 2001; P.A. 11-136 amended Subsec. (b) by adding provisions re mailed notice of unexcused absences and amended Subsec. (c) by adding provision re filing of complaint not later than 15 calendar days after failure to attend meeting or cooperate with school and by making a technical change, effective July 1, 2011; P.A. 14-198 added Subsec. (f) re excused absences for students whose parent or legal guardian is an active duty member of the armed forces, effective July 1, 2014; P.A. 15-225 amended Subsec. (a) by adding references to Secs. 10-198c and 10-220, effective July 1, 2015; P.A. 16-147 amended Subsec. (b) by adding new Subdiv. (5) re truancy intervention model, by redesignating existing Subdiv. (5) re system of monitoring individual unexcused absences as Subdiv. (6) and by deleting provision re notice to include warning about unexcused absences, deleted former Subsec. (c) re failure to attend meeting, redesignated existing Subsecs. (d) to (f) as new Subsecs. (c) to (e), and made conforming changes, effective August 15, 2017; P.A. 22-47 amended Subsec. (b) by designating existing provision in Subdiv. (5) as Subpara. (A) and amending same to add “subsection (a) of” and adding Subpara. (B) re adoption and implementation of truancy intervention model developed by Department of Education that accounts for mental and behavioral health or a similar truancy intervention plan, adding Subdiv. (7) re notice to parent or guardian of child who is a truant of information concerning 2-1-1 Infoline and other pediatric mental and behavioral health screening services and tools, and adding Subdiv. (8) re requirement that school mental health specialist conduct evaluation of each child who is truant, effective July 1, 2022.

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