Bonsall Unified School District
Student Attendance
Compulsory Education
California compulsory education law requires everyone between the ages of six and eighteen years of age to attend school, except sixteen- and seventeen-year-olds who have graduated from high school or passed the California High School Proficiency Exam (CHSPE) and obtained parental permission to leave.
Elementary School Attendance_SPN
Truancy
EC Section 48260 (a) states that a who is absent from school without a valid excuse three full days in one school year or tardy or absent for more than a 30-minute period during the school day without a valid excuse on three occasions in one school year, or any combination thereof, shall be classified as a truant and shall be reported to the attendance supervisor or to the superintendent of the school district.
Chronic absentee
Defined in the California Education Code (EC) Section 60901(c)(1) as "a pupil who is absent on 10 percent or more of the school days in the school year when the total number of days a pupil is absent is divided by the total number of days the pupil is enrolled and school was actually taught in the regular day schools of the district, exclusive of Saturdays and Sundays."
SART Process
SARB Hearing
California Education Code 48263 authorizes School Attendance Review Boards as an extension of the Juvenile Court process, to respond to cases involving Habitual Truancy, Irregular Attendance or Habitual Insubordination/Disruption. The purpose is to work with families to develop a set of interventions and supports that will correct the issue of concern without the direct involvement of the courts.
SARB hearings are conducted at the Fallbrook Sheriffs Station. The Bonsall Unified School District shall provide a written Notice and Summons to the parent/guardian with the specific location, date and time of the hearing.
Homeschooling
Bonsall Unified School District (BUSD) like the California Department of Education does not provide guidance on how to home school. Information on this topic is readily available however from various accessible sources This includes information on a multitude of topics related to homeschooling such as legal issues, curriculum, recordkeeping, transcripts and diplomas, and much more.
Parents who file the private school affidavit to privately educate or "home school" their children must select and provide all curricular, instructional, and other materials.
The California Education Code (EC) Section 33190 requires a copy of the Affidavit be kept at the school of residence. Requirements of what must be included in the Affidavit are also outlined in EC Section 33190. EC Section 48222 states: "The attendance of the pupils shall be kept by private school authorities in a register, and the record of attendance shall indicate clearly every absence of the pupil from school for a half day or more during each day that school is maintained during the year."
While it is understood that parents are not required to report to their school district (Bonsall Unified School District), please keep in mind that BUSD has the responsibility of checking on school-age children not attending school. It may be a prudent course of action to avoid confusion by informing the district that you intend to home school or privately educate your children. In addition, public school districts are required to verify that the private school affidavit filing requirements have been met in order to verify a child’s exemption from compulsory education. This typically involves providing the district with a copy of the filed affidavit.
