Child Welfare & Attendance

The mission of School Attendance Review Board is help students stay in school, attend school regularly, and graduate. 

SARB is team that is composed of school and community members who meet regularly to diagnose and resolve persistent student attendance and truancy issues.  The SARD level is the district's last chance to keep students and families out of the court system.

The SARB Board/Team may consist of the following members: 

• School Site & District Representatives
• District Attorney
• District Nurse or District Licensed Vocational Nurse 
• Community Outreach Liaison
• Special Education & 504 Liaison
• San Bernardino County Sheriff Juvenile Probation Department 
• Parent/Guardians
• Interpreter - Spanish
• Community Based Organizations

It is the parents’/legal guardians’ legal responsibility to ensure that their child attends school.  Students who have severe attendance problems will be referred to SARB for intervention.  

You have received a letter because your child:

1. You child has been referred to SARB by the child's school after exhausting all efforts to improve attendance 
2. Your child has missed a substantial amount of days and/periods of school during this past quarter. 
3. Your child has a substantial amount unexcused tardies of school during this past quarter. 
4. You and your child have already met with SARB and attendance has not improved.
5. Your child is considered habitually truant student or chronic absentee. 

Habitually truant students (age 6-18) may be referred to SARB. Education code 48262 states, “Any pupil is deemed an habitual truant who has been reported as a truant three or more times per school year, provided that no pupil shall be deemed an habitual truant unless an appropriate district officer or employee has made a conscientious effort to hold at least one conference with a parent or guardian of the pupil and the pupil himself, after the filing of either of the reports required by Section 48260 or Section 48261.”

Students with chronic attendance problems may be referred to SARB. The California Department of Education defines “chronic absentee” as a student who is absent on 10% or more of the school days in a school year when the total number of days the student is enrolled is divided by the total number of days the student is enrolled for any reason. It is a broader measure than truancy, which only tracks unexcused absences. Chronic absenteeism tracks all absences, excused and unexcused.

SARB helps students/families understand the importance of school, why students must attend school, and that there are consequences for failure to comply with the law.

SARB may do the following:

• recommend resources to support students at school
• recommend student/ family to seek counseling
• recommend parenting classes
• schedule changes in the student’s program that might be unusual but necessary
• facilitate a student’s transfer to an alternative school or other program when appropriate
• request /coordinate assistance from other volunteers to help students get to school
• refer students/families to the District Attorney, Probation, or Juvenile Court for further assistance

There are several reasons why students should be in school every day, here is a list of a few: 

• Education Code, Section 48200 requires that all students between ages 6-18 attend school daily, unless otherwise exempt.
• By 6th grade, chronic absence becomes a leading indicator that a student will drop out of high school.
• Research shows that missing 10% of school, or about 18 days in most school districts, negatively affects a student’s academic performance. That’s just two days a month, and that’s known as chronic absence.
• Students who are excessively absent are at greater risk of dropping out and becoming involved in delinquent behavior, early pregnancy, or substance abuse.
• When students improve their attendance rates, they improve their academic prospects and chances for graduating.
• Focusing on good attendance from the time a student enters kindergarten will help them be more successful in their adult life.

• Education Code, Section 48260.5 - Habitually truant students may be subject to prosecution, fines, community service and loss of driver’s license. Parents of truant students are obliged to compel the attendance of the student at school. Parents are advised to meet with school officials, investigate alternative education programs in the District, and attend classes with the student for one day.
• Education Code, Section 48293 - In the event that any parent, guardian or other person having control or charge of such minor continually and willfully fails to respond to the directives of the School Attendance Review Board (SARB), the District may file in the proper court a criminal complaint against parent/guardian, which may result in fines of up to $500.
• Education Code, Section 48292, and Penal Code, Section 272. Failure to attend school as required may result in the filing of a complaint against the parents with the District Attorney’s Office.

Below are some resources that may be helpful for parents/guardians:

• School Attendance Improvement Strategies presented by the California Department of Education 
• Dropout Prevention presented by California Department of Education
• Truancy presented by The California Department of Education
• Truancy Hub presented by the State of California Department of Justice
• "Truancy: First Step to a Lifetime of Problems"  by E.M. Garry presented by  Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention