1. For the purposes of this section, "school truancy officer" means a truancy officer appointed under section 299.10 or any other person designated by a public school board or a governing body of an accredited nonpublic school to administer provisions of this section.
2. This section is not applicable to a child who is receiving competent private instruction in accordance with the requirements of chapter 299A. If a child is not in compliance with the attendance requirements established under section 299.1, and has not completed educational requirements through the sixth grade, and the school has used every means available to assure the child does attend, the school truancy officer shall contact the child's parent, guardian, or legal or actual custodian to participate in an attendance cooperation meeting. The parties to the attendance cooperation meeting may include the child and shall include the child's parent, guardian, or legal or actual custodian and the school truancy officer. If the child is a member of a family receiving assistance under the family investment program, the department of human services shall be notified and shall make the contacts for participation in the attendance cooperation meeting in lieu of the school truancy officer. For a child who is a member of a family receiving assistance under the family investment program, the attendance cooperation meeting shall include the child's parent or specified relative whose needs are included in the child's assistance grant and a representative of the department of human services. The school truancy officer or the representative of the department of human services contacting the participants in the attendance cooperation meeting may invite other school officials, a designee of the juvenile court, the county attorney or the county attorney's designee, or other persons deemed appropriate to participate in the attendance cooperation meeting.
3. The purpose of the attendance cooperation meeting is for the parties participating in the meeting to attempt to ascertain the cause of the child's nonattendance, to cause the parties to arrive at an agreement relative to addressing the child's attendance, and to initiate referrals to any services or counseling that the parties believe to be appropriate under the circumstances. The terms agreed to shall be reduced to writing in an attendance cooperation agreement and signed by the parties to the agreement. Each party signing the agreement shall receive a copy of the agreement, which shall set forth the cause identified for the child's nonattendance and future responsibilities of each party.
4. If the parties to an attendance cooperation meeting determine that a monitor would improve compliance with the attendance cooperation agreement, the parties may designate a person to monitor the agreement. The monitor shall be a designee of the public school board or governing body of the accredited nonpublic school, or a designee of the department of human services, if the department made the contacts for the attendance cooperation meeting. The monitor may be a volunteer if the volunteer is approved by all parties to the agreement and receives a written authorization for access to confidential information and for performing monitor activities from the child's parent, guardian, or custodian. A monitor shall contact parties to the attendance cooperation agreement on a periodic basis as appropriate to monitor performance of the agreement.
5. If the parties fail to enter into an attendance cooperation agreement, or the child's parent, guardian, or custodian acting as a party violates a term of the attendance cooperation agreement or fails to participate in an attendance cooperation meeting, the child shall be deemed to be truant.
6. a. If a child deemed to be truant under this section is a member of a family receiving family investment program assistance under chapter 239B and has not completed the sixth grade, the school truancy officer shall provide notification to the department of human services. An initial and any subsequent notification shall be made in writing. The form of the notification shall be mutually determined by the departments of human services and education.
b. Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter to the contrary, unless prohibited by federal law, a school truancy officer may release information to the department of human services and may receive information from the department of human services regarding a child described in paragraph "a". In addition, the school truancy officer may utilize other sources available to the officer as necessary to verify whether a child is a member of a family receiving family investment program assistance. Release of information under this section shall be limited to the minimum access to information necessary to achieve the purposes of this section.
7. A public school board or governing body of an accredited nonpublic school shall exercise the authority granted under this section as a means of increasing and ensuring school attendance of young children, as education is a critical element in the success of individuals and good attendance habits should be developed and reinforced at an early age.
97 Acts, ch 41, §32; 97 Acts, ch 174, §5, 7
Referred to in § 239B.2A, 299.5A, 299.13
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