This report summarizes a variety of information on the operation of county School Attendance Review Boards (SARB) in California and is intended to aid the legislature in evaluating the degree of implementation and degree of effectiveness of SARBs. SARBs are community-centered review boards intended to assist school districts, students, and parents…

Learning can easily be fostered in three major agencies: the school, work-related institutions, and society in general. Teachers, who may be found in all three places, would be ministers, merchants, or mechanics--but first they would be teachers. (Author)

Guidelines, based on the California Education Code and the California Community College Student Attendance Accounting Manual, are presented as an aid to program-level administrators and staff preparing for a state audit of program attendance records. After introductory material examining the role of average daily attendance (ADA) and weekly…

Excessive absenteeism is a complex and continuing secondary school problem with personal, institutional, economic, and social causes. Issues of excused or unexcused absences and age of majority are complex and largely ignored by research. Research indicates absenteeism is positively correlated with the second semester, boys, older students,…

This paper first traces the history of racial segregation in the California Public Schools, revealing that while the first California constitution provided for a system of common schools, the schools were initially common to white pupils only. The paper then demonstrates that the State has an affirmative duty under the 14th Amendment to end public…

This report is an examination of the legal structure underlying state compulsory school attendance requirements and the likely legal and policy consequences that might result from repeal or amendment of the statues that form that structure. Its purpose is twofold. First, it is to provide a useful presentation of the massive amount of federal and…

An historical overview of the precursors to compulsory school attendance is presented. Emphasis is placed upon the beginning stages of American schooling, the Common School Movement, and its impact upon the restriction of educational choice for the majority of those in society. (Author/EVH)

As long as attendance remains the chief avenue to schooling credentials and these credentials remain prerequisites to jobs, social compulsion will remain more dominant than legal compulsion. (JD)

Reviews history of the rights of parents to control the education of their children from colonial times to present (includes the development of case law). English and American common law recognizes parents' natural right to control their children's education. Concludes that, as long as academic standards are satisfied, a child's education should…

Reviews state policies regulating private education and home instruction that limit parental choice in education. Criticizes judicial response to parental challenges, suggesting that parental interests have been underprotected and state interests have been overprotected. Suggests reasonable bases for state intervention. (FMW)

Presents a historical, national, and legal overview of home schooling. Reviews official responses and constitutional limits on state regulation and offers suggestions on ways that public educators and home-schoolers can improve their relationship. Recommends that public officials take initial steps to bridge the communication gap. (CJH)

Parental rights and state compulsory school attendance requirements are limited by constitutional constraints, as shown in three benchmark cases. The article also cites cases to show the impact of compulsory education laws on home schooling, which is increasing. The state retains the power to impose minimum curriculum requirements. Cites…

Notes that while notice and a hearing are giant steps, the tremendous number of suspensions in public schools across the country, particularly in the inner city, may continue to rise unless they are also monitored much more closely by parents. (Author/AM)

Surveys the present state of and newest trends in British education. Examines grammar and comprehensive schools, the new extension of compulsory attendance to the 16th year, the "liberalizing" of the new Certificate of Secondary Education (as against the traditional GCE), and Open University adult education. (IFS/WGA)

Reviews numerous state court cases involving school attendance laws and home instruction of school-age children by their parents. Discusses legal standards for judging the adequacy of home instruction and for determining whether the burden of proof lies with the parents or with the state. (JG)