New “Alianna Alert” Bill Imposes Stricter Student Absence Notification Requirements on Public Schools
In the wake of the tragic death of Alianna DeFreeze, a fourteen-year old Cleveland student, Ohio has passed a new statute establishing a new, stricter time limit for public schools to notify parents or guardians of a student’s absence.
Effective April 5, 2019, all Ohio public school districts, brick-and-mortar charter schools, and STEM schools must notify a student’s parents or guardians of the student’s absence from school within 120 minutes from the beginning of the school day. Previously, schools were only required to notify parents or guardians within a reasonable time period.
To comply with the new statute, R.C. 3321.141, a school must demonstrate a good faith effort to contact an absent student’s parents or guardians. Schools are permitted to choose from a variety of means of notification, including a telephone call (with verification of call placement), the school’s automated student information system, an email, an in-person visit to the student’s residence, or any other viable procedure adopted by the district’s Board of Education.
The statute that contained the previous requirement of notification within a “reasonable time” — RC 3313.205 – remains in effect, subject to the new 120-minute deadline, and still mandates that schools have a written absentee notification policy.
Although the new law and its 120-minute time limit currently only apply to public schools, the requirement may prompt private schools and other institutions to consider stricter notification policies.