September is attendance awareness month in Ohio. In honor of the month, the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce (ODEW) has issued new resources to support boards of education in their work to encourage regular school attendance.
As OSBA’s legal division discussed in the Legal Ledger Sidebar earlier this summer, the Ohio biennial budget bill, House Bill 96, included several changes to state laws on attendance. On Sept. 3, in response to these changes, ODEW announced the release of an Overview of Attendance Law Updates and Local Implementation Considerations. The overview explains the HB 96 amendments to Ohio’s attendance laws. Among the key changes are:
- Removing the definition of “excessively absent,” which calculated the number of hours missed by a student before family notification was required, and replacing it with “chronically absent,” to facilitate early intervention. A student is chronically absent when they miss at least ten percent (10%) of the minimum hours required in the school year.
- Changing court filing requirements.
- Requiring school districts to adopt a policy on addressing chronic absenteeism no later than Aug. 1, 2026.
ODEW reminds school districts to collaborate with county juvenile courts to adopt practices that align to their upcoming amended policies and laws. Among the considerations for districts are:
- Parental reporting of absences.
- Parameters for excusing absences.
- Absence documentation policies.
- Health-related attendance policies.
- Alignment of school policies with local community health guidelines.
ODEW also shared the Attendance Law FAQ, updated on Sept. 2, and Attendance Support page. The Stay in the Game! Attendance Network is an additional available resource for districts. Finally, ODEW offers a series of monthly webinars on a variety of attendance topics. Recordings of past webinars are available on the page.
OSBA’s staff is committed to working with state agencies, court organizations, and other partners to help school districts implement the new attendance requirements. More information will be provided to school districts over the next year as they update and align their procedures and practices in anticipation of the Aug. 1, 2026, deadline for policy adoption. Please contact OSBA's legal division at (855) OSBA-LAW [(855) 672-2529] if you have general questions. For specific guidance, districts should reach out to their legal counsel.