The Drop-Out Prevention and Recovery Initiative of the Student Personnel Services Division has developed from a district-wide Strategic Plan to define specific roles and responsibilities. As the title suggests, the plan is to prevent drop-outs as the Student Personnel Assistants reach out to fulfill the Revised Nebraska Statute 79-201 for compulsory education and to recover students by finding and enrolling students into school who have previously dropped out of school.
It is a goal to have every student who is less than 18 years of age engaged in an educational setting, unless excused by a parent through signing an affidavit. This affidavit must be signed in the presence of a SPA, or a notary in a school building. Students who refuse to attend school will be referred to the Douglas County Attorney, Juvenile Division when all other avenues have been exhausted to have the child/family comply with the law. Students who will reach 6 years of age prior to January 1st of the present school year must under state law, register for school as well. Those parents wishing to keep their children out of school when this applies, may choose to submit an affidavit for withdrawal with the understanding the student will automatically be enrolled into the first grade the following year.
ATTENDANCE PRACTICES
Attendance in school daily is an expectation and our operational practices in addressing absences are to send letters from the schools notifying parents of 5 and 10 days of absence from school. During these absences the school will have contacted the parents whenever the parent is available, worked with the student through a counselor at school to address social/emotional/academic difficulties, held Student Assistance Team meetings (SAT) with teachers, administrators, district personnel, parents, parent or student advocate or others interested in the process, a change of schedules could be implemented, parenting classes offered or community services referrals made for the student/family. At 15 days of absence, the Student Personnel Assistant will send a letter to the family notifying them of a scheduled meeting to review what has been attempted at the school site and to address any other difficulties the family or student may be having. If there are medical reasons that have not been addressed, doctor's notes can be presented at this time. At this meeting all concerns will be addressed and a plan of commitment agreed upon. If the commitment is not upheld, the student and their parent may be referred to the County Attorney's Office for violation of the mandatory attendance laws. Parents who fail to appear for the scheduled meeting, or fail to reschedule, will automatically be referred to the County Attorney.