ATTENDANCE REPORTS AND RECORDKEEPING
Chapter V--Attendance Reports and Recordkeeping
Definition of key terms
Section 41601 defines several key terms for attendance reporting (including the division of the fiscal year into "apportionment periods"), and lays out the basis for awarding apportionments according to "average daily attendance":
§41601. For the purposes of this chapter, the governing board of each school district shall report to the Superintendent of Public Instruction during each fiscal year the average daily attendance of the district for all full school months during (1) the period between July 1st and December 31st, inclusive, to be known as the "first period" report for the first principal apportionment, and (2) the period between July 1st and April 15th, inclusive, to be known as the "second period" report for the second principal apportionment. The county superintendent of schools shall report the average daily attendance for the schools and classes maintained by him or her and the average daily attendance for the county school tuition fund.
Each report shall be prepared in accordance with instructions on forms prescribed and furnished by the Superintendent of Public Instruction.
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The "first period" is more commonly known as "P-1," the second period as "P-2."
Public disclosure requirements
Certain attendance accounting information must be made available to the public:
§48342. The governing board of each school district shall annually disclose to the public actual pupil attendance rates for each school in the district.
§48342.5. School districts and county offices of education shall annually certify to the Superintendent of Public Instruction that they have complied with the requirements of Section 48342 regarding the annual disclosure of actual pupil attendance rates.
Basic recordkeeping and reporting requirements
Both the Education Code and the CCR specify recordkeeping and reporting requirements:
5 CCR 400. Records of attendance of every pupil in the public schools shall be kept for the following purposes:
(a) For apportionment of State funds.
(b) To insure general compliance with the compulsory education law, and performance by a pupil of his duty to attend school regularly as provided in Section 300 (see Chapter I).
§46000. Attendance in all schools and classes shall be recorded and kept according to regulations prescribed by the State Board of Education, subject to the provisions of this chapter.
§44809. (a) A state school register shall be kept by every teacher in the public elementary schools, except a teacher in:
(1) A school in which the state school register of each teacher is kept on behalf of the teacher in a central office by an employee of the school district.
(2) A school in which a central file of individual records of pupil enrollment, absence, and attendance is maintained on forms containing at least the minimum items of information prescribed by the State Department of Education, and whose principal submits periodic reports of pupil personnel data to the city or district superintendent of schools, or, if no superintendent is employed in the district, to the county superintendent of schools on forms approved by the State Department of Education.
(b) There shall be recorded in each state school register the absence and attendance of each pupil enrolled in the classes taught by the teacher keeping the register or on whose behalf the register is kept and any additional information required by the State Department of Education.
5 CCR 401. (a) Elementary school attendance shall be kept in a state school register, as required by Section 44809, except when a central file is maintained as authorized by Education Code Section 44809.
(b) High school attendance (including junior high school) shall be kept on forms approved by the State Department of Education.
(c) In all high schools, except those listed in (d) of this section, each teacher shall be required to submit to the principal, at least once each school day, a report of attendance for each period of the day in which he conducts classes, listing the names of all pupils absent in any period.
(d) In all classes for adults, continuation schools and classes, and regional occupational centers, and programs, attendance shall be reported to the principal at least once each school month.
Requirements specific to particular programs
The CCR sets out methods for reporting attendance in certain educational settings (see Chapter IV for other details on specific programs):
5 CCR 406. Attendance shall be reported in clock hours for the following:
(a) Pupils enrolled for less than the minimum school day
(b) Pupils in classes for adults whenever held pursuant to the Education Code.
(c) Pupils enrolled in work experience programs.
(d) Pupils enrolled in continuation education schools and classes.
(e) Pupils in regional occupational centers or regional occupational programs.
(f) Pupils in summer schools.
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Pursuant to 5 CCR 404, if a pupil is present for any part of a scheduled hour of attendance in "a class described in Section 406," the pupil is to be credited with the full hour. (When classes subject to hourly attendance accounting are scheduled for more or less than an exact hour or multiple of an hour in each session, resulting attendance credit is aggregated into whole hours for reporting--see "A.d.a.: Basic Definitions and Calculations" in Chapter III). To be credited with a following hour (or scheduled portion of an hour) of the same class, the pupil must of course be present for some part of that hour. The record, then, must be configured to substantiate that each hour or portion of an hour of a pupil's credited attendance was separately determined.
Approval of attendance accounting software systems
School districts must individually obtain CDE approval for their attendance accounting systems; the only exception is for exclusive use of the State School Register (Form J-32) in the elementary grades. Approval for any given system depends on whether or not the system as a whole includes the necessary elements of a clear and complete audit trail, from the individual classroom, through the central data gathering and processing center, to final reports.
Minimum contents of monthly attendance summary reports
As exemplified in the State School Register, a complete monthly attendance summary report sets out at least the following:
Total enrollment (number of students enrolled for one or more days each)
Days taught (number of calendar days on which at least a minimum day of instruction was offered, not including Saturday or Sunday classes)
Total days accountable (total enrollment multiplied by days taught)
Days not enrolled (total number of days of non-enrollment by all students who were each enrolled for less than the full month)
Days absent unexcused for apportionment (number of potential student-days of attendance that were lost because of apportionment-unexcused absence; does not include days not enrolled)
Days of actual attendance (number of student-days of actual attendance)
Days of apportionment attendance (number of student-days of actual attendance plus number of student-days of apportionment-excused absence)
Average daily attendance (days of apportionment attendance divided by days taught)
Percent apportionment attendance (days of apportionment attendance divided by days of possible attendance (total days accountable minus days not enrolled), times 100)
Percent actual attendance (days of actual attendance divided by days of possible attendance [total days accountable minus days not enrolled], times 100)
Signature line for certification of report
Considerations for software approval process
CDE does not give blanket approval to any commercial vendors' attendance accounting systems. Because of variations in the ways different districts implement and configure given software packages, each district's application for approval must include its own supporting material: vendor documentation alone is never an adequate basis for approval of an attendance accounting system. CDE recommends that a request for system approval should proceed to CDE only after review by the district's independent auditor and County Office of Education.
Samples of "source" or "data origination" documents should accompany a district's application, with appropriate explanations. Supporting information should explain the way the system tracks, verifies, and reconciles absences--especially excused absences claimed for apportionment.
An application should therefore include all forms that transmit information and should indicate when they are compiled and who signs them (for example, are machine-readable forms the basic mode of information gathering or are pupil absences initially recorded in a more traditional classroom register and then transcribed?). All forms and reports must have appropriate legends or directories clearly identifying all codes and symbols, and source documents must have signature lines for the person(s) who prepare them.
The supporting material should also explain the ways a system provides for security of records via passwords or interlocks; for example, while it is acceptable for work-experience students to input data, no student should ever have access to the complete system. The final test of an attendance accounting system lies in the quality and completeness of the reports it yields.
Retention of records
Attendance accounting records are subject to the retention requirements set out in the CCR:
5 CCR 16020. (a) As used in this article, "records" means all records, maps, books, papers, and documents of a school district required by law to be prepared or retained or which are prepared or retained as necessary or convenient to the discharge of official duty.
5 CCR 16025. All records not classified as Class 1--Permanent or Class 2--Optional shall be classified as Class 3--Disposable, including but not limited to detail records relating to:
(a) Records Basic to Audit, including those relating to attendance, average daily attendance, or a business or financial transaction (purchase orders, invoices, warrants, ledger sheets, canceled checks and stubs, student body and cafeteria fund records, etc.), and detail records used in the preparation of any other report. Teachers' registers may be classified as Class 3--Disposable only if all information required in Section 432 is retained in other records or if the General Record pages are removed from the register and are classified as Class 1--Permanent.
(b) Periodic Reports, including daily, weekly, and monthly reports, bulletins and instructions.
5 CCR 16026. A Class 3--Disposable record shall not be destroyed until after the third July 1 succeeding the completion of the audit required by Education Code Section 41020 or of any other legally required audit, or after the ending date of any retention period required by any agency other than the State of California, whichever date is later. A continuing record shall not be destroyed until the fourth year after it has been classified as Class 3--Disposable.