Indiana's Updated Attendance Laws (2026)

 

 

To: Perry Township Parents and Guardians
From: Office of Student Services
Date: July 20, 2026

Dear Parent/Guardian,

As per Indiana Code 20-18-2-26.5.1, schools are required to establish a truancy prevention process that defines an “absent student,” both excused and unexcused, to ensure students are attending school. to meet the requirements of this new Indiana Law, Perry Township has implemented the following changes:

1. For absences to be counted as excused, parents/guardians may notify the school via phone, email, or note if a student is sick or will miss school up to 10 times.
2. After the 10th excused absence, all absences will be marked unexcused unless the following is provided:
   1. illness verified by a note from a physician
   2. recovery from accident (verified by a physician’s statement)
   3. required court attendance (verified by court documentation)
   4. professional appointments – Parents are encouraged to schedule medical, dental, legal, and other necessary appointments other than during school hours.  When appointments are necessary during the school day, the student shall report back to school immediately after the appointment with a signed statement from the doctor, dentist, lawyer, counselor, etc.
   5. death in the immediate family
   6. observation or celebration of a bona fide religious holiday
   7. college visitation (verified by documentation from college)
   8. military connected families’ absences related to deployment and return
   9. participation in locally approved FFA or the state fair.
   10. such other good cause as may be acceptable to the Superintendent or permitted by law.
3. For all K-12 students who accumulate five unexcused absences during a 10 week period, your student’s school is required to invite you and hold an attendance conference within five days of the last unexcused absence.
   1. At this conference, the school’s attendance officer, a teacher, and a counselor/social worker will meet to create a plan to address the on-going attendance issues.
   2. If a parent cannot attend the conference, the school will create a plan and share the plan with the parent via email, parentsquare, or sending it home with the child.
4. Be aware that for all K-12 students who continue to accumulate unexcused absences the district is required at certain points to make a Department of Child Services report for K-6 students and a truancy report to the Marion County Prosecutor’s Office for all students.

While some of these requirements may seem severe, the intent of the law is to impress upon parents and families the importance of regular school attendance.   Research and practice clearly demonstrate the correlation between student success and attending school.  Students who miss more than 10% of a school year (18 days) develop gaps in instruction that hinder their long-term learning and academic growth.  We need your students in school to ensure they are learning and growing so they can be as successful as possible.

Sincerely,

Stephanie Quinlan
Director of Student Services
E-mail:  squinlan@perryschools.org
317-789-3953