EveryDay Labs Monthly Webinar Series
In partnership with the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Education, EveryDay Labs holds a monthly attendance webinar series to help DC LEAs and schools plan for data informed attendance interventions.
Where Public School Students Miss School | edscape
An interactive map showing areas of the city (by ward, neighborhood clusters, and planning areas) where students who are chronically absent live. Schools and LEAs can use the map to plan targeted interventions by student home address.
OSSE Attendance Dashboard | osse
OSSE’s attendance dashboard, updated monthly, shows citywide and school-level data on how often students are missing instructional time because they are absent—whether absences are excused or unexcused—across DC public and public charter schools.
Adult Learner Transit Subsidy Program FAQs | ddot
Metro Lift and the Adult Learner Subsidy Program are two transportation subsidies that may make it easier for your students' families with transportation, especially if transportation for the parent or guardian has been a barrier for the students' attendance.
A Brief Introduction to DC Attendance Policy
Mandatory Attendance
Excused Absence
An excused absence is when a student misses school for a reason the school accepts. These include being sick, going to a doctor’s appointment, a family emergency, a religious holiday, or other situations approved by the school. Families usually need to send a note, email, or document explaining the reason.
Unexcused Absence
An unexcused absence is when a student misses school without a valid reason or without providing the required notes or documents. If a student is late or leaves early without permission, that may also count as an unexcused absence. Too many unexcused absences can lead to truancy referrals.
Chronic Absenteeism
A student is chronically absent when they miss 10% or more of the school year for any reason, excused or unexcused. For example, if a school year has 180 days, missing 18 or more days counts as chronic absenteeism. Schools track this because missing many days makes learning much harder, even if the absences are excused.
Truancy
A student is considered truant when they have 10 or more unexcused absences in a school year. When students become truant, schools must take certain steps, such as contacting families, creating a support plan, and notifying city agencies after the 10th unexcused absence. Truancy focuses on unexcused absences only.
The 60/40 Rule
In DC, a student must be present for at least 60% of the school day to be marked as “present” for that day. If a student is at school for less than 60% of the day, they are marked “absent,” even if they came for part of the day. For example, if the school day is 7 hours long, a student must attend at least 4 hours and 12 minutes to be counted as present that day.
Students should still come to school, even if they will be counted as absent. Late is better than never, and schools and families can always find ways to build on the successes of a short day. You are important and we want you at school.
Links to and brief descriptions of DC Codes and of Municipal Regulations:
CODE
These laws define who must go to school, how attendance law is enforced, how DC counts who is in school, how schools update OSSE on changes in enrollment, how the District, its Agencies and its school support student suffering from truancy, and how the District and its agencies report publicly about truancy.
This law started a truancy pilot program to help students aged 14–17 who missed 15 or more days without a valid excuse. After a qualifying student misses 15 full days without an excuse, the school must refer them to the Department of Human Services (DHS) within 2 school days. DHS provides services and support and publishes a report by March and August of each year that shows what caused the absences, what support was given, and whether attendance or grades improved.
REGULATIONS
Title 5-A21 DCMR – Education - OSSE - Compulsory Education and School Attendance:
- Definitions related to unexcused / excused absences, full school day, chronically truant
- Requirements for schools:
- Contact parents same-day for any unexcused absence
- Maintain due process procedures for attendance violations
- Build school-based student support teams
These are cited in OSSE truancy guidance referencing:
- 5A DCMR § 2102.3 – Excused absence categories
- 5A DCMR § 2103.2 – Parental notification/process