The School Attendance Review Board (SARB) is a joint initiative between the Minneapolis Public Schools and the Hennepin County Attorney's Office to improve school attendance by targeting truancy.

SARB is a community-based effort to bring together multiple resources to assist families and students with attendance/truancy issues. In addition to the schools and the County Attorney's Office, the review board includes representatives from community agencies, Hennepin County Juvenile Probation, Hennepin County Children & Family Services and the Minneapolis Police Department.

Under Minnesota law, all children must attend school until the age of 18. Students with seven full or partial days of unexcused absences from school are considered truant and subject to possible legal and/or court action.  Eighty-six percent of the students who participate in the SARB process improve their attendance.

SARB parents are very involved and overwhelming supportive of the SARB process.  Parents remind us often that it is through the SARB process that their children are given the kind of intensive intervention that is needed to improve attendance.  By specifically focusing on issues that are interfering with attendance, problems can be identified and addressed.  Both parents and students feel supported by working with school and district staff and also members from citywide community agencies.  SARBs message to all families in our district is that attendance matters.

1. A school letter and follow-up call/visit to parents of every student after three days of unexcused absences.
   
   
2. A school-site meeting with students (and parents) after seven days of unexcused absences and a School Attendance Site Contract (pdf) is signed by the student and parents.
   
   
3. A County Attorney lecture with students and parents after five days of unexcused absences.
   
   
4. Pre-SARB interviews are conducted (Pre-SARB Hearing Form - pdf).
   
   
5. School completes a SARB Hearing Referral Form (pdf) for students after ten days of absences.  A SARB hearing is then held with the family.   A SARB contract is drawn up and signed by student, parent and witness. (Summary of Parent/Pupil Conference and Agreement - pdf).
   
   
6. Referral to the County Attorney's Office for appropriate legal action if the truancy/educational neglect continues.

The County Attorney's Truancy Intervention Project works with schools throughout the county to ensure early identification and intervention with students who are missing school. The County Attorney's Office produces semi-annual "report cards" for every secondary school in the county, documenting the number of truancy referrals and the outcomes of those cases. The purpose of the reports is to give accountability data about truancy petitions to schools.

Currently, the average daily attendance in Minneapolis is 91.9 percent.  The district's goal is to have all students in grades K-12 reach the 95 percent attendance mark by 2005.

Technology
Discovery is our new attendance system that provides schools with significant attendance reporting and tracking enhancements.  Discovery: 1) provides direct web access for teachers to record and track attendance for their students; (2) provides reporting tools for site administrators and staff on demand; and (3) customizes attendance mailers.