Chronic Absenteeism
Mississippi Compulsory School Attendance Law
In accordance with MS Code § 37-13-91, OSSD shall enforce the Mississippi Compulsory School Attendance Law and shall apply the same standards to all students as described in OSSD BOT Policy JBA - Compulsory School Attendance/School Age.
Effective July 1, 2026, the Mississippi Compulsory School Attendance Law states:
- Students are permitted to have up to five (5) excused absences per semester (three of which can be approved by parent verification) unless approved by the superintendent or designee. Any absence beyond five is considered an unlawful (unexcused) absence.
- This includes all excused absences, including parental, admin, and medical.
- Students must attend 66% of the school day to be considered present.
- Students must attend 66% of the school day to be considered eligible for extracurricular activities.
- After three (3) consecutive absences, students must have a medical excuse.
- Parents not enrolling their student in public school must submit a Certificate of Enrollment to the Mississippi Department of Education by August 15th.
- A court petition may be filed at eight unlawful absences.
- OSSD must report absences to the State by the close of the next business day of the unlawful absence.
Excessive Absences
If unexcused absences total three (3) days or more during the semester, the student may be referred to the MTSS committee and will proceed with the following:
- Investigate the reasons for the excessive absences.
- Meet with parent(s) and students to resolve the attendance problem.
Once truancy has been filed, all further actions reside with the Judge of Juvenile Court. School commences at the official time posted on the school bell schedule elsewhere in this handbook.