Code of Maryland Regulations
Title 13A - STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION
Subtitle 08 - STUDENTS
Chapter 13A.08.01 - General Regulations
Section 13A.08.01.04 - Unlawful Absence
Current through Register Vol. 51, No. 19, September 20, 2024
A. An absence, including absence for any portion of the day, for any reason other than those cited as lawful are presumed to be unlawful and may constitute truancy. Local school systems may add specified criteria for unlawful absences to local board-approved attendance policies.
B. Truancy. A truant is a student who is absent without lawful cause as defined in Regulation .03, of this chapter, from the attendance for a school day or portion of it.
C. Habitual Truant. A student is an habitual truant if the student is unlawfully absent from school for a number of days or portion of days in excess of 20 percent of the school days within any marking period, semester, or year. A local school system has the prerogative of defining habitual truancy in a more but not less stringent manner (for example, unlawful absences in excess of 15 percent of the school days).