“Compulsory school age,” shall be defined as the period of a child's life from the time the child's parents elect to have the child enter school and which shall be no later than six (6) years of age until the child reaches eighteen (18) years of age. The term shall not include any child who holds a certificate of graduation from a regularly accredited, licensed, registered, or approved high school.

The new school attendance regulations can be found in the Board Policies as Board Policy 10110.

 Act 138 of 2016 – School Attendance

In November 2016, the Pennsylvania General Assembly and Governor Wolf enacted a comprehensive overhaul of truancy law in the form of Act 138 of 2016.  Pennsylvania school districts will be required to implement changes in their attendance policies, and the methods by which they address student truancy, for the 2017-2018 school year. 

Act 138 of 2016 creates opportunities for schools to emphasize improving attendance with greater flexibility rather than solely punitive consequences.  The new procedures formalize the emphasis on truancy elimination and support for truant students and their parents.

Among the changes included in Act 138 of 2016 are specific definitions for previously ambiguous terms such as “truant” and “habitually truant.”  The new law also defines “person or parent relation” to include a person with whom a child lives or who is acting in a parental role of a child. 

In addition, Act 138 includes new mandated procedures school district will follow when a child is truant, which includes a requirement to send written notice to the student’s parents as well as a requirement to facilitate a School Attendance Improvement Conference (SAIC) within ten days from the third illegal absence. 

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