How to Report Student Attendance

• Report a daily Attendance Event Record(s) for each day the student is enrolled and expected in attendance.

  • The daily attendance should equal “1” day for each enrollment day which may require two records if the student is “IN ATTENDANCE” .5 (half) day and then another attendance event the other .5 (half) of the day.

• Report “IN ATTENDANCE” for those students participating in a Fieldtrip Activity scheduled and approved by the education organization utilizing the internal comment of ‘fieldtrip’ to manage where those students are located during the school day.

• The beginning date is the first day of the school calendar and the ending date is the last day of the school calendar.

• Report a daily Attendance Event Record(s) of “VIRTUAL” for each day the student is enrolled and expected in attendance.

  • The daily attendance should equal “1” day for each enrollment day which may require two records if the student is “VIRTUAL” .5 (half) day and then another attendance event the other .5 (half) of the day.

• Report “Virtual” for those virtually educated students participating in a Fieldtrip Activity scheduled and approved by the education organization utilizing the internal comment of ‘fieldtrip’ to manage where those students are located during the school day.

• The beginning date is the first day of the school calendar and the ending date is the last day of the school calendar.

• Virtual schools must comply with the same instructional time requirements (5 or 6 hours to count as a day of instruction). As with traditional schools, how the instructional time gets recorded is a local determination.

• Report an accurate daily Attendance Event Record(s) for each .5 (half) day the student is enrolled and expected in attendance. 

• Report an accurate daily Attendance Event Record(s) for each 1 (whole day) the student is enrolled and expected in attendance. 

• DO NOT report absences or other attendance codes for days the student is not expected in attendance due to their schedule.

• Report an accurate daily Attendance Event Record(s) for only the school calendar days the student is enrolled and expected in attendance. DO NOT report attendance events for days the student is not enrolled. 

  • The daily attendance should equal “1” day for each enrollment day which may require two records of .5 (half) day each if the student has more than one attendance event in a day. 

• The beginning date is the first day the student’s enrollment begins, and the ending date is the last day of the student’s enrollment or the last day of the school year.

Option 1: Exit the student Code 25=Out-of-State transfer: A school may exit the student as an out-of-state transfer. The parent should be told they must enroll the student in school in the area where they are staying and re-enroll the student upon their return. This option may be considered if the parent is uncertain about a return date to the state.

Option 2: Exit the student Code 20=Homeschool: At the election of the parent, the parent can choose to take responsibility for the student’s education by homeschooling while they are away. In this case, the student may be exited as a transfer to homeschooling. The parent should understand the student will need to be re-enrolled if/when the student returns to school and placement of the student will be a local decision. 

Option 1: Unexcused absence: A school may report an attendance event record of “Unexcused Absence.” Local school district policy should be reviewed to determine if the student becomes truant or should be expelled for lack of attendance. 

Option 2: Excused absence: If the parent or guardian indicates the trip is for educational purposes (e.g., a trip for an educational or cultural experience), the parent indicates the length of time the student will be away and when the student will return, and the principal agrees in writing the purpose of the trip is educational, the school can elect to excuse the absence under IC 20-33-2-17.5. A school should report an attendance event record of “Excused Absence”. 

• All enrolling schools where the student is dual enrolled; both public and non-public, will report attendance on the days the student is enrolled and expected (scheduled) to be in attendance. 

• Student’s days attended, excused and unexcused days absent reported by the non-primary educational organization will not be included in the less than or more than 162 accountability day counts. 

• Attendance reported by both schools will not be combined to equal a day of attendance for the student. 

• Both schools are to report a full day of attendance (either present or absent) if the student is attending and fulfilling their schedule. 

Past year seniors finishing their credits and completing all graduate requirements prior to October 1st DO have attendance data reported for the time the student is enrolled and attending. Students completing their graduation requirements prior to October 1st will have a student school association (enrollment) record with the primary school identified as ‘true’, an educational organization association record with primary responsibility of ‘attendance’, attendance data for each day enrolled, and course completion data provided for certification at the end of the school year. Upon completion of the graduation requirements an exit date with exit code 34 is to be provided.

• Students with compulsory attendance exceptions (statutorily exception such as those reasons identified in IC 20-33-2 Sec.14 to 17.7) should have the attendance code of “Exempt” reported for those days.

• This does not include school sponsored fieldtrip; either a classroom, group of students, or school fieldtrip.

• The student would be considered in attendance; See 511 IAC 7-32-45, 511 IAC 7-42-11 and 511 IAC 7-42-12. 

• Homebound instruction under the provisions of Article 7 has a distinct requirement of a physician's statement. If the parent has not completed the request for homebound instruction and you have not implemented a homebound program, then the student is absent.

• Report an accurate daily Attendance Event Record of “In Attendance” for each day the student is expected to and receives in-person homebound or hospitalized instruction from a teacher.

• Report an accurate daily Attendance Event Record of “Virtual” for each day the student is expected to and receives homebound or hospitalized instruction ‘virtually’; meaning, the student and teacher are separated by time, space, or both.

• Report an accurate daily Attendance Event Record of “Excused Absence or Unexcused Absence” if the student is unable to receive expected homebound or hospitalized instruction for that day. 

Students must be receiving instructional services under the guidance of a licensed teacher to be counted in attendance. It is up to the school corporation and the juvenile facility to determine which has the responsibility of reporting the student. Such decisions may be based upon, among other criteria, the length of time the student will be in the detention center; the language in any joint service agreements between the detention center, its fiscal agent corporation, and any member corporations; or the status of the student after adjudication. See Policy on Detention Center Education.  For additional guidance contact Cathy Danyluk, State Attendance Officer cdanyluk@doe.in.gov