ATTENDANCE LAWS 

State law requires all children between the ages of five (5) and seventeen (17) to attend a public or private school or kindergarten.  A parent whose child or ward is not six years old on or before September 1st of the school year may waive kindergarten attendance for his/her child. 

Students will return to school on August 17, 2009.  Please encourage your children to strive for excellence in school attendance for the new year.  South Carolina law requires regular school attendance for every child who is at least five years old on or before the first day of September, until the child turns seventeen years old.  Parents who neglect to enroll their child or refuse to make their child attend school, upon conviction, may be fined up to fifty dollars or imprisoned for up to thirty days for each absence. 

Lawful absences include but are not limited to: 

• Absences caused by a student’s own illness and whose attendance in school would endanger his or her health or the health of others
• Absences due to an illness or death in the student’s immediate family
• Absences due to a recognized religious holiday of the student’s faith
• Absences due to activities that are approved in advance by the principal

Unlawful absences include but are not limited to: 

• Absences of a student without the knowledge of his or her parents
• Absences of student without acceptable cause with the knowledge of his or her parents

Suspensions are not to be counted as an unlawful absence for truancy purposes. 

South Carolina School Attendance Laws 

Section 59-65-10  All parents or guardians shall cause their children or wards to regularly attend a public or private kindergarten or school of this state which has been approved by the State Board of Education or by a member school of the South Carolina Independent Home Schools Association or some similar organization, or a parochial, denominational or church related school, or other programs which have been approved by the State Board of Education from the school year in which the child or ward is five years of age on or before September first until the child or ward attains his seventeenth birthday or graduates from high school. 

Section 59-65-20 Any parent or guardian who neglects to enroll his child or ward or refuses to make such a child or ward attend school shall, upon conviction, be fined not more than fifty dollars or be imprisoned not more than thirty days; each day’s absence shall constitute a separate offense; provided, the court may in its discretion suspend the sentence of anyone convicted of the provisions of this act. 

Section 59-65-90 The State Board of Education shall establish regulations defining lawful and unlawful absences beyond those specifically name in this article and additional regulations as are necessary for the orderly enrollment of pupils so as to provide for uniform dates of entrance.  These regulations shall require:  (1) that school officials shall immediately intervene encouraging the student’s future attendance when the student has three consecutive unlawful absences or a total of five unlawful absences and (2) that the district board of trustees or its designee shall promptly approve or disapprove any student absence in excess of ten days.  As used in this section, “intervene” means to identify the reasons for the child’s continued absence and to develop a plan in conjunction with the student and his parent or guardian to improve his future attendance.   

Provided, however, that nothing within this section shall interfere with the board’s authority to at any time refer a child to a truancy prevention program or to the court pursuant to 59-65-50. 

TRUANCY 

The State Board of Education recognizes that truancy is primarily an educational issue and that all reasonable, educationally sound, corrective actions should be undertaken by the school district prior to resorting to the juvenile justice system. 

• Truant A child ages 6 to 17 years meets the definition of a truant when the child has three consecutive unlawful absences or a total of five unlawful absences.
• Habitual Truant A “habitual” truant is a child, ages 12 to 17 years, who fails to comply with the intervention plan developed by the school, the child, and the parents or guardians and who accumulates two or more additional unlawful absences.  This child may need court intervention and an initial truancy petition may be filed.  The written intervention plan, and documentation of noncompliance, must be attached to the truancy petition asking for court intervention.
• Chronic Truant A “chronic” truant is a child ages 12 to 17 years who has been through the school intervention process, has reached the level of a habitual truant, has been referred to Family Court and placed on an order to attend school, and continues to accumulate unlawful absences.  Should other community alternatives and referrals fail to remedy the attendance problem, the chronic truant may be referred to the Family Court for violations of a previous court order.  All school intervention plans existing to this point for this child and family must accompany the Contempt of Court petition as well as a written recommendation from the school to the court on action the court should take.
• Referrals and Judicial Intervention At no time should a child ages 6 to 17 years be referred to the Family Court to be placed on an order to attend school prior to the written intervention planning being completed with the parents or guardians by the school.  A consent order must not be used as an intervention plan from any local school or school district.  Should the parents or guardians refuse to cooperate with the intervention planning to remedy the attendance problem, the school district has the authority to refer the student to Family Court in accordance with S.C. Code Ann. 59-65-50 (1990), and a report shall be filed against the parents or guardians with the Department of Social Services in compliance with S.C. Code Ann. 20-7-490 (2) (c) (Supp.2002)
• Petition for a School Attendance Order If the intervention plan is not successful and further inquiry by school officials fails to cause the truant student and/or parents or guardians to comply with the written intervention plan or if the student and/or parents or guardians refuses to participate in intervention and the student accumulates two or more additional unlawful absences, the student is considered an habitual truant.  Each referral must include a copy of the plan and specify any corrective action regarding the student and/or the parents or guardians that the district recommends that the court adopt as wells as any other available programs or alternatives identified by the school district.  The intervention plan must be attached to the petition to the Family Court and served on the student and the parents or guardians.
• Petition for a School Attendance Order If the intervention plan is not successful and further inquiry by school officials fails to cause the truant student and/or parents or guardians to comply with the written intervention plan or if the student and/or parents or guardians refuses to participate in intervention and the student accumulates two or more additional unlawful absences, the student is considered an habitual truant.  Each referral must include a copy of the plan and specify any corrective action regarding the student and/or the parents or guardians that the district recommends that the court adopt as well as any other available programs or alternatives identified by the school district.  The intervention plan must be attached to the petition to the Family Court and served on the student and the parents or guardians.
• Petition for Contempt of Court Once a school attendance order has been issued by the Family Court and the student continues to accumulated unlawful absences, the student is considered to be  a chronic truant and school officials may refer the case back to Family
• Court The school and district must exhaust all reasonable alternatives prior to petitioning the Family Court to hold the student and/or parents or guardians in contempt of court.  Any petition for contempt of court must include a written report indicating the corrective actions that were attempted by the school district and what graduated sanctions or alternatives to incarceration are available to the court in the community.  The school district must include in the written report its recommendation to the court should the student and/or parents or guardians be found in contempt of court.
• Transfer of Plans If a student transfers to another public school in South Carolina, intervention plans shall be forwarded to the receiving school.  School officials will contact the parents or guardians and local team members to review the plan and revise as appropriate.  Court ordered plans may be amended through application to the court.

Homeless Education 

In December of 2001, Congress made stronger a law giving children and youth in homeless situation the right to go to school, no matter where they live.  The law is called the McKinney-Vento Act, and it gives children and youth in homeless situation the right to: 

• Stay in their school of origin, even if they move
• Enroll in a new school without proof of residency, immunizations, school records or other papers
• Get transportation to school
• Go to pre-school programs
• Get all the school services they need
• Have disagreements with schools settled quickly
• Go to the school they choose while disagreements are settled

The McKinney-Vento Act is a federal law, passed in 1987 to help people experiencing homelessness.  Part of the law protects the rights of children and youth who are homeless to go to school.  The law says that a child or youth without a fixed, regular and adequate residence is homeless.  It does not matter how long the child or youth has been without a home.  It also does not matter if the child or youth is living with a parent or is separated from parents.  Under the Act, students are homeless if they are: 

• Living with a friend, relative or someone else because they lost their home or can’t afford a home;
• Staying in a motel or hotel;
• Living in an emergency or transitional shelter or a domestic violence shelter;
• Staying in a substandard housing;
• Living in a car, park, public place, abandoned building or bus or train station;
• Awaiting foster care placement;
• Living in a campground or an inadequate trailer home;
• Abandoned in a hospital;
• Living in a runaway or homeless youth shelter

Migrant children, pre-school children, and youth on their own are covered if they fit into one of these categories.  Runaway youth can be considered homeless even if their families want them to come home.  Students who live in any public or private place that is not supposed to be a regular residence is covered. 

For more information or questions concerning homelessness, please contact the district’s Homeless Liaison, Rosemary P. Choice at (803) 625-5255. 

FAMILY LITERACY PROGRAM 

Purpose 

The Early Childhood Development and Academic Assistance Act (Act 135) requires that funds generated be used to provide family literacy programs with the overall purpose of supporting parents/guardians of children ages 0-5 years in their role as the principal teachers of their preschool children.  Programs must be designed to serve children, parents (or guardians), and parents and children together as a family unit.  School districts must provide comprehensive family literacy programs that address intergenerational cycles of poverty through adult education, early childhood and parenting education. 

Goal 

The goal of family literacy is to help break the cycle of poverty and illiteracy by improving the educational opportunities of the state’s low-income families by integrating early childhood education, adult literacy or adult basic education, and parenting education into a unified family literacy program. 
 
 

SOCIAL WORK 

Social work services are provided to assist students and families who are experiencing problems that interfere with academic achievement. 

Rosemary P. Choice This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it us  (803) 625-5255 

TRIBUNAL OFFICER

What Is The Tribunal Officer? 

The Tribunal Officer ensures that students grades K-12 are given due process of law before receiving an expulsion sanction for violating a major school/district policy.

Functions of the Tribunal Office

•  
  • Presides over expulsion hearings for students grades K-12.
  • Serves as a consultant to school administrators regarding disciplinary issues.
  • Compiles relevant data and prepares reports for review of the Superintendent and Board of Trustees.
  • Interacts and communicates with various groups and individuals within Hampton School District 2 and throughout the community.

For more information contact our district’s Tribunal Officer,
Rosemary P. Choice (803) 625-5255 

Pupil Services Contact Info

Rosemary P. Choice Pupil Services Coordinator (803) 625-5255 This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

Syneke DeVore Secretary (803) 625-5256 This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

Carolyn Borum Parent Educator (803) 625-5254 This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it