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Attendance & School Attendance Review Board (SARB)

Every Day Counts: Attendance Matters

A logo for Everyday Counts with the phrase Attendance Matters underneath on a yellow background.Consistent attendance is one of the most important factors in a student’s success. Being at school every day helps students build strong academic and social skills, and develop the routines and habits they’ll need to succeed in school and life.

  • When students attend school every day, they have a better chance to engage with the curriculum, participate in discussions and collaborate with peers. This continuous exposure to learning fosters a deeper understanding of subjects and enhances critical thinking and problem-solving skills.
  • Students can fall behind if they are absent just one or two days every few weeks, missing out on fundamental reading and math skills. A strong foundation is critical in the lower grades.
  • Being late to school may lead to poor attendance, and any day or hour absent is a missed learning opportunity.

If your family experiences frequent challenges with tardies or absences, our School Attendance Review Team (SART) will reach out to collaborate on a supportive plan. SART meetings are a collaborative opportunity to identify obstacles, share resources and create strategies that help your child thrive.

School Attendance Review Board

The School Attendance Review Board (SARB) leverages school and community resources to support students in enhancing their attendance and addressing truancy-related concerns. Truancy is a multifaceted issue that impacts not only the student, but also their family, the school and the wider community. SARB adopts a comprehensive strategy to assist students and their families as a unit. Through the SARB process, the team aims to reintegrate students into regular attendance, help them achieve their academic potential and ultimately graduate.

Goals/Priorities

  • Promote a culture and practice of positive attendance in schools
  • Develop and implement intervention strategies in order to interrupt negative attendance patterns and reduce chronic absenteeism
  • Provide support to habitually-truant students and families through the School Attendance Review Board (SARB) process
  • Conduct School Attendance Review Board (SARB) hearings and reviews that are culturally-sensitive to student and family conditions

SARB Referrals 
Students are referred to the SARB after all the resources available to a school’s Student Attendance Review Team (SART) have been exhausted. 

Specifically, a student is identified by the school staff as a habitual truant after three or more full days, or absence for more than any 30-minute period during the school day without a valid excuse or any combination thereof. The parent/guardian is notified of these absences by the means of three truancy and/or absence letters and is asked to contact school personnel. 

If this notification and conference process does not remedy the problem, the student then may be referred for a hearing to the SARB. These reviews are mandatory for the student and parent to attend in order for a working solution to be developed. 

At the SARB meeting, representatives from the school, juvenile services, law enforcement and community services may be present to discuss and determine the appropriate actions necessary to help the student. Students may also be referred to SARB for chronic behavior problems. 

SARB Meeting Agendas

San Rafael City Schools holds SARB meetings throughout the school year. These meetings use a progressive and holistic approach to improve student attendance. Specifically, the SARB panel will review an array of student records (attendance, grades, interventions, discipline, etc.) accompanied by student and parent/guardian testimonials, to develop an individualized attendance improvement plan that will be revisited in 4-6 weeks.

Meeting agendas are posted below.