1LegalIAnalysis

LegalIssueAnalysisProject
ChristinaL.Shanks
Lewis&ClarkEDAD604

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Introduction:
CompulsoryattendanceinLebanonSchoolDistrictrequiresallstudentsages7through
18toregularlyattendschoolunlessotherwiseexceptedbylaw.Schoolsmonitorandtrack
violationsforallstudentsage5andabovethathavebeenenrolledinpublicschool.Ifaparent
failstosendachildtoschoolwithin3daysofawrittennoticefromthedistrictacitationmaybe
givenbythedistrict.ThisfailuretosendachildtoschoolisaclassCviolationofOregonlaw
andispunishablebyfine.(ORS339.925)

Compulsoryattendancelawshavebeeninfluencingthelivesofstudentsandparentssince
thefirstlawthatwasenactedinMassachusettsin1852.Thislawincludedmandatoryagesof
eighttillfourteenyearsofage.Inyearstocome,manyotherstatesbeganpassingtheirown
compulsoryattendancelawstoensureaneducatedpopulation.

Earlyyearsofcompulsoryattendancelawscausedgreatconcernsoverthe
constitutionalityofthelaws.Therewereseveralkeycasesbetween1891andtheearly1900s
thatdeterminedtheconstitutionalityofcompulsoryattendanceinOhio,Indiana,New
Hampshire,andPennsylvania.QuigleyV.StateofOhio(1891)actuallyjustifiedcompulsory
attendanceonparenspatriae
(paarenspattreeeye)
,whichallowsstatetooverruletheparents
whentheyaredeterminedtobenegligentorincompetent.Thesecasesfurtherjustifiedthe
constitutionalityofcompulsoryattendancewithinindividualstates.

MajorCasesinCompulsoryAttendance:

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PierceV.SocietyofSisters(1925)ThecourtdecisioncenteredonOregonparentsbeing
requiredtosendtheirchildrentopublicschoolwasruledunconstitutional,thusallowing
parentstoutilizeprivateorparochialschoolstomeetcompulsoryattendance
requirements.
MeyerV.Nebraska(1923)ClarifiedPiercedecisioninthestateregulationofprivate
schoolswasrestricted.In1919
theNebraskalawrestrictingforeignlanguageviolatedthe
dueprocessclauseofthe
14thamendment.
FarringtonV.Tokushige(1927)SupremeCourtoftheUSunanimouslystruckdown
Hawaiislawmakingschoolsthatteachforeignlanguageswithoutpermitillegal
violated
thedueprocessclauseofthe5th&
14thamendment.

Thesecourtsruledthatstatutesrequiringstudentstoonlyattendpublicschoolwas
unconstitutional.Inessence,theselandmarkcourtcasesaffirmparentsdonothavetherightto
determinewhethertheirchildrenareeducated,buttheydohavetherighttodeterminewhere
sucheducationtakesplace.

Itisimportantforallstakeholderstobefamiliarwithcompulsoryattendancelawsfora
myriadofreasons.Theseattendancelawsneedtobeunderstoodandenforcedforthebenefitof
thestudents.Additionally,schooldistrictsareexpectedtofollowrulesandregulationscreated
bystateandfederallevels,andthiscanbeanoverwhelmingtaskattimes.Maintainingaccurate
recordsofattendanceiscrucial.Mostimportantlytheamountofdaysastudentattendsschoolis
directlytiedtotheiracademicsuccess.Secondly,throughunderstandingthefoundationofthese,

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lawsonecanbepreparedtoavoidfuturecourtcases.Additionally,stateandfederalfundingis
tiedtoattendancemeasurements.

Issue:
AttendanceisanissueintheLebanonSchoolDistrict,fromgradeschoolthroughhigh
school.Theolderstudentsbecomethehigherthelevelofattendanceissuesaccordingthe
OregonStateReportCard2012/2013.Manystudentsareabsenttoomanydaysandnotreceiving
apropereducationthatpreparedthemfortheirfuture.Parentsandstudentstendtocreate
justificationsthatarenotacceptable,andtruancybecomesanunhealthyhabit.Thesehabitswill
inturnwillpassdowntotheirchildrencreatingacycleoftrunatfamiliesstrugglingtogainan
education.Itisadifficultpatterntowatch.

OregonReportCardData

Studentsattending90%ormoreenrolledschooldaysfortheschoolyear2012/2013:
Cascades78%
GreenAcres72%
HamiltonCreek76%
Lacomb78%
Pioneer76%
Riverview79%
SevenOakMiddle69%
LebanonHighSchool64%

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Thenumberssurroundingattendancearestartling.Regularattendanceneedstoimprove
inordertoimprovelearningandachievementfortodaysstudentstobereadytoperforminthe
st
economiesofthe21
century.

Discussion:
WhatcanLebanonSchoolDistrictdotoimproveregularattendanceforourstudents?

Theconsequencestostudentsfornotattendingschoolonaregularbasisare

overwhelming.Studentsthathavepoorattendanceintheirearlyyearsofschooltendtocontinue
thathabitwithmanytimesgettingworseastheygetolderandbecomemoreindependent.This
leadstofallingbehindinclasses,poorgrades,andforalargenumberofstudentstheyeventually
dropout.Additionally,therearesocialemotionalconsequencesaswell.Studentloseconnections
withfriendsandpeers,thuslosingtherelationshippartofschool.

Iinterviewedtwohighschoolgraduatingseniorsontheissuesaroundattendance.When
askedaboutschoolpolicytheywerebothunawareofthepolicy.Theyassumedthereisonein
thebigbooknoonereads.Theywerethenaskediftheyhaveeverheardofanypenaltiesfor
attendanceissues.Theyhadheardofpeoplereceivingletters,referencingonefriendwhohad
skippedschoolmanytimes.However,theywereunawareofanyfineseverbeinggiven,or
possiblesuspensionofdrivingprivileges.Thesepossibleconsequencescameasasurpriseto
bothstudents.Whenaskediftheyfelttherewereattendanceissuesatthehighschooltheyboth

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agreed,absolutely.Whenaskedabouttheimportanceofattendance,theybothagreeditwas
simplegotoschoolandearndecentgrades.Theyalsostatedthekidswhoskip,alwayhavethe
lowestgrades,andfailmanyclasses.Whenasked,whatcouldbedoneattheHighSchoolto
increaseattendance?Theyfeltincreasedpunishmentsandamorevocalpolicycouldhelp,they
felttheincentivetoattendwasalreadyapparent,goodgrades.Insummary,thesetwohigh
schoolseniorsmadeitverycleartruancyiswhykidsfail.Theyneedtougherconsequencesto
holdthemaccountable.
InOregon,thepossiblepenaltiesandfeesforcompulsoryattendanceareasfollows:
(ORS339.990)PenaltiesforviolationofdutytosendchildrentoschoolisaClassC
Violation$150
(ORS339.254)SuspensionofStudentDrivingPrivileges:Studentsages1517thatmiss
10consecutivedaysunexcusedor15totalsdayunexcusedinasemestercanhavedriving
privilegestakenawayforuptooneyear.Secondwrittenrequestcanbedoneuntilthe
studentturns21.
(ORS163.577)FailingtoSuperviseaChild:Childunder15yearsofagethatfailto
attendschoolasrequiredunderORS339.010.Amountofrestitutionorderedmaynot
exceed$2,500andisaclassAviolation.

TheseOregonRevisedStatuteshaveprovidethedistrictwithproperdeterrentstomake
animpact.However,oneofthemostimportantpartsismakingtheimpactisfollowingproper
procedureinordertomakeadifference.Studentsandfamiliesneedtobeawareofthe
importance,incentives,andpossiblepenaltiessurroundingcompulsoryattendance.Furthermore,

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aproperpapertrailoftheprocedureneedstobedocumentedinordernottoloseinlitigationif
thecitationisappealed.TheattendancepolicyiscitedinORS339.071,thenfurtheroutlinedin
OAR5810210077,andthenwrittenintotheLebanonCommunitySchoolsStudentParent
Handbook.Wealsohaveatruancyofficertohelpsupporttheselawsandpolicies.

Conclusion:
Theimportanceofcompulsoryattendanceisapparentatalllevels:federal,state,district,
andschool.Maintainingaccurateattendancerecordsandsupportingfamiliesthroughproblem
solvingcanbeadauntingtask,butworththeeffortinthelivesofthestudents.

References
LegalDictionaryLaw.com.(n.d.).
Law.comLegalDictionary
.RetrievedJune14,2014,from
http://dictionary.law.com/
OregonSecretaryofStateKateBrown.(n.d.).
OregonSecretaryofState:StateArchives
.
RetrievedJune17,2014,fromhttp://arcweb.sos.state.or.us/
Policies&AdministrativeRules.(n.d.).
:Categories
.RetrievedJune16,2014,from
http://www.lebanon.k12.or.us/policies/index.php
ReportCardDownloadOregonDepartmentofEducation.(n.d.).
ReportCardDownload
OregonDepartmentofEducation
.RetrievedJune19,2014,from
http://www.ode.state.or.us/data/reportcard/reports.aspx

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SearchOregonlaw:.(n.d.).
OregonLaws.org
.RetrievedJune19,2014,from
http://www.oregonlaws.org/
Stader,D.L.(2013).
Lawandethicsineducationalleadership
(2nded.).Boston:Pearson.