Schools and school staff must keep attendance records, report pupil information and absences, and notify parents about prohibited absences; pupils may not skip school on their own authority.
§232. Attendance records, principals' and teachers' duty to furnish; penalty for violation; pupil absence upon own authority prohibited; notice A. Visiting teachers, or supervisors of child welfare and attendance, shall receive the cooperation of all teachers and principals, public and private, in the parish or city in which they are appointed to serve. The principals, or heads, and the teachers of all schools, public, private, denominational, and parochial, shall report in writing to the visiting teachers, or supervisors of child welfare and attendance, the name, birthdate, race, parents, and residence of each pupil in attendance at their schools or classes within thirty days after the beginning of the school term or session, and at such other times as may be required, and make such other reports not inconsistent with law on attendance, census, and child-school adjustment as may be required by the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education or the State Department of Education, all in accordance with rules adopted pursuant to the Administrative Procedure Act and reviewed in public hearings by legislative oversight subcommittees acting under the authority of R.S. 49:966. B.(1) The attendance of all school pupils shall be checked each school day and at the beginning of each class period and shall be verified by the teacher keeping such record, which shall be open to inspection by the visiting teacher, or supervisor of child welfare and attendance, or duly authorized representative, at all reasonable times. All schools shall immediately report to the visiting teacher, or supervisor of child welfare and attendance, any unexplained, unexcused, or illegal absence, or habitual tardiness. (2) Effective with the 1995-1996 school year and thereafter, no public elementary or secondary school pupil shall be permitted for any reason to absent himself from school attendance during the school day upon his own authority. The school principal or the principal's designee shall make all reasonable efforts to verbally notify the parent or other person responsible for the pupil's school attendance of any such prohibited absence by a pupil. For the purposes of notification as required by this Paragraph, a parent or other person responsible for a pupil's school attendance may designate in writing with the school principal one or more alternative contact persons. C. The provisions of this Section shall not apply to schools which receive no local, state, or federal funds or support, directly or indirectly, and in which neither students nor their parents are recipients or beneficiaries of any local, state, or federal education program or assistance. However, such schools shall be required to report to the state Department of Education their total attendance as of the thirtieth day of their school term or session. No school which violates the provisions of R.S. 14:358 or R.S. 42:54 shall be exempted from the provisions of this Section. D. Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, each school in this state, both public and nonpublic, shall, upon the request of the city or parish public school system within which such school is located, state whether any individual student is enrolled in such school and whether such pupil is fulfilling the compulsory attendance requirements provided under R.S. 17:221. E. Whoever violates this Section shall be punished in accordance with R.S. 17:221. Acts 1964, No. 109, §2. Amended by Acts 1975, No. 777, §1; Acts 1981, Ex.Sess., No. 12, §1, eff. Nov. 19, 1981; Acts 1982, No. 291, §1; Acts 1995, No. 211, §1, eff. June 14, 1995.