1. Attendance Data

2. Agenda Overview Attendance Fields Attendance Guidance
Online Student Attendance
Overall Process

3. Overview

4. Attendance Data Overview
Attendance data is now reported in the Student School Association file and will then pulled into a new Attendance Snapshot
Data fields newly defined to align with updated guidance from the US Department of Education

5. Data Uses and Reports Data Uses Topics of Interest:
US Department of Education reporting
Public Reports
Media and Research Requests
Topics of Interest:
Attendance and Truancy Rates
Chronically Absenteeism – counts and rates
Habitually Truant Statistics

6. New Attendance Fields in Student School Association File

7. Student School Association File – Updated Definitions
Total Days Attended– The aggregate number of whole and partial days the student attended school.  If the student attended for at least a half of a day, it should be counted as a full day of attendance. 
Total Days Excused by Students – The aggregate number of whole and partial days the student had excused absences (out of school).  Absence due to a suspension is excused.  (A student who is tardy is not considered to be absent).  If the student missed more than a half of a day, it would be counted as a full day absent.
Total Days Unexcused by Students – The aggregate number of whole and partial days the student was absent (out of school), without being excused from a parent/guardian.  (A student who is tardy is not considered to be absent).  If the student missed more than a half of a day, it would be counted as a full day absent.
Total Possible Attendance Days – The aggregate number of whole and partial days the student would have attended school if there had been no absences.  Expelled students are included until date of expulsion.

8. Attendance Fields Relationship
Days Attended
Days Excused
Days Unexcused
Days Possible
Days Attended
Days Excused
Days Unexcused
Days Possible

9. Student School Association File – Habitually Truant Status
Indicate whether the student meets any of the Habitually Truant Status criteria for the record:
Code
Description
Student was not habitually truant 1
Truant Four or More Days in a Month -The student had four total days of Unexcused Absences from a public school in any one calendar month: calculated by the sum of unexcused absences converted to days and fractions of days. 2
Truant Ten or More Days in a School Year - The student had ten or more total days of Unexcused Absences, but never accumulated four or more total days of unexcused absences from that public school in any one calendar month: calculated by the sum of unexcused absences converted to days and fractions of days. 3
Truant for Both Conditions) - The student had both four (or more) total days of Unexcused Absences from the reporting public school in any one calendar month and ten or more total days unexcused absences from the same public school during the reported school year; calculated by the sum of unexcused absences converted to days and fractions of days.

10. Student School Association File – Total Days Missed Due to Out of School Suspension
Optional field for pre-populating the Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC)
Definition: The total number of school days that were missed by the student due to out-of-school suspensions. Optional for CRDC Reporting Purposes Only
Data will be used to populate the CRDC collection as it is a CRDC reporting year

11. Attendance Guidance

12. Calculating Days Attended, Absent and Possible
A student who is absent more than 50 percent during a scheduled school day shall be considered absent for that entire day
A student who is present 50 percent or more during a scheduled school day shall be considered present for that entire day
The total number of days the student is scheduled to attend the school would be counted as the Days Possible for that record

13. Excused Absences
Excused Absences occur when the student is absent for an acceptable reason as identified within the attendance policy set by local school board of education as declared in (4)(a) C.R.S. which may include, but is not limited to, the following reasons: funeral, illness, injury, legal obligation, medical procedure and religious observation.
Local schools may require appropriate documentation to verify excused absences.
Absences due to suspension or expulsion of a child shall be considered excused absences for purposes of calculating habitually truant students ( (3)(a) C.R.S.)
Excused Absences are included in the Chronically Absenteeism Calculation

14. Unexcused Absences
Unexcused Absences occur when the student is absent without a reason or for an unacceptable reason as identified within the attendance rules set by local school board of education policy as declared in (4)(a) C.R.S.
If authorized school officials determine that the parent’s excuse is not valid or verified, the absence shall be unexcused.
Unexcused Absences are used to calculate Truancy rates
Unexcused Absences are included in the Chronically Absenteeism Calculation

15. Online Student Attendance

16. Overview
ALL online schools are required to report accurate student attendance and truancy data
1 CCR : Every online school should have consistent, authorizer-approved participation/attendance and truancy policies and procedures that are communicated to parents, students, and teachers

17. Online Attendance: Possible Methods for Tracking Attendance
Minimum Login Time Requirements
Specific Task Completion for a Give Time Period
Minimum Lesson/Unit Completion Requirements
Other methods are possible for tracking attendance, varies on each school model and tracking method

18. 1) Minimum Login Time Requirements
Establish a minimum amount of time that must be spent logged in to coursework per day or week
Simplest option- most similar to attendance tracking at a brick-and-mortar school
May be entered into an SIS on a daily basis
Does not allow for flexibility for students unable to meet minimum number of hours or account for work completed offline

19. 1) Minimum Login Time Requirements EXAMPLE
Online School A: 180 days in calendar schedule determines students must log in at least 20 hours/week, which would be 4 hours per day
Determining Total Days Possible:
Based on calendar schedule, i.e. 180 days
Determining Number of Days Attended:
Total log-in time for the school year
Example: Student “Alfa” completes 16 hours in week 1 (5 days); this equates to 5*(16/20) = 4 days in attendance and 1 day absent (either excused or unexcused depending on school policy) for week 1. Each week is totaled to equal days attended as well as days absent

20. 2) Specific Task Completion for a Given Time Period
Mandating students complete a series of regularly scheduled tasks on a daily or weekly basis
If the student completes all the required tasks during the set time, they are in attendance
If the student does not complete all tasks, then they are not in attendance or partially in attendance
Tasks may include, but not limited to:
Contacting the teacher via phone or
Participating in discussion thread
Attending virtual tutoring session/webinar
Submitting specific assignment

21. 2) Specific Task Completion for a Given Time Period EXAMPLE
Online School B determines student must participate in the following:
Discussion Thread (20%)
Respond to teacher s/phone calls (25%)
Attend synchronous class session (25%)
Submit homework assignments by the end of the week (30%)
Each task is weighted as indicated
Student “Bravo” did all except for attend the class session in Week 1. For a 5 day/week schedule:
5*( ) = 3.75 days which would be rounded up and reported as 4 days attended for that week
5 days total - 4 days attended = 1 days absent (excused or unexcused) for that week
All weeks days attended and days absent would be totaled and reported in the student’s record

22. 3) Minimum Lesson/Unit Completion Requirements
Provides most flexibility
Assignments completed become the evidence the student was in attendance
If no work is produced, then the student is considered absent
If all work is produced, the student is considered in attendance
Timeline must be established for completion of work

23. 3) Minimum Lesson/Unit Completion Requirements EXAMPLE
Online School C determines a student must complete 20 lessons per week (4lessons/day) for 100% attendance
Calculation similar to hours per week requirement
Student “Charlie” completes 18 lessons in Week 1. Calculating Days Attended would equal to
5*(18/20) = 4.5 days attended which rounded up to 5 days attended and
0 days absent for week 1
All weeks days attended and days absent would be totaled and reported in the student’s record

24. Implementation
There is flexibility in choosing which method will be utilized by each school
Weekly timeline is recommended to capture required data:
Habitually Truant - 4 days in one month
Habitually Truant - 10 days in the school year
Habitually Truant – both conditions
Once method and criteria is determined, the online school and authorizer must determine how to quantify the attendance so that it may be reported to CDE

25. Reporting Attendance
Regardless of internal methods, the following metrics must be calculated and reported for each student‘s record in the Student School Association file:
Total Days Attended
Total Days Excused
Total Days Unexcused
Total Days Possible Attendance
Habitually Truant Status

26. Overall Process

27. Reporting Attendance Data
Track attendance data fields for each student record in the Student School Association (SSA) file where:
Public School Code
Pupil Attendance Information between 01 and 08 (students attending an educational program operated by the reporting district)
Total Possible Attendance Days is greater than or equal 10
Grade Level between 004 and 120 (PK-12th)
Once attendance fields are updated in the SSA File, the Attendance Snapshot can be created
Attendance Snapshot AND SDA files will be open in late April 2020

28. Attendance Snapshot Criteria
Pull all error-free records from the Student School Association file that match the following criteria:
School Code is a valid public school AND
Pupil Attendance Information between 01 and 08 (students attending an educational program operated by the reporting district) AND
Total Possible Attendance Days is greater than or equal 10
Grade Level between 004 and 120 (PK-12th)
The records selected will be joined with data from the Student Profile Table using District Code, School Year, and SASID

29. Attendance Snapshot Calculated Fields
Fields previously collected will now be pre-populated or calculated in Pipeline:
Federal Race/Ethnicity
Migrant
Special Education
ELL
Foster
Chronically Absent

30. Resources Student School Association file updated and posted at:
New Attendance Data Snapshot layout posted at:
Contact: Annette Severson
(303)