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Ohio’s New Attendance Laws: What Parents Should Know
Ohio has modified its school attendance laws. This blog explains the details, what attendance-related terminology means, and what actions families can take.
Two or three school days missed each month might not seem like many absences. However, over the course of a school year, such absences can add up quickly.
This is one reason Ohio revised its approach to school attendance. Changes introduced in the 2025 budget bill make it clear that schools should pay closer attention to chronic absenteeism and intervene early, rather than waiting for unexcused absences. The new laws became effective September 30, 2025, and schools should have updated attendance policies by August 1, 2026. (1)(3)
This means parents can expect to be contacted about their children’s attendance earlier than in the past. This is to prevent the situation from worsening and help families cope with attendance barriers.
What is Chronic Absenteeism?
Under Ohio law, a student is considered chronically absent if he/she misses at least 10 percent of the minimum instructional hours of the school year. (1)(3)
The most significant point in the definition provided above is that all missed hours count towards chronic absenteeism. Excused and unexcused absences, hours missed due to out-of-school suspension, late arrivals, and early departures count equally. (1)
It should be noted that this does not mean that excused absences turn into unexcused. If the absence is due to illness or another valid reason, the student is excused. The hours simply count toward the chronic absenteeism calculation.
According to the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce, two or three missed days a month can make a student chronically absent by the end of the school year. (1)
Are Chronic Absenteeism and Habitual Truancy the Same Thing?
Parents will be exposed to both terms; however, these concepts describe two different situations.
Chronic absenteeism counts all missed instructional hours regardless of the reason for absence. The threshold is at least 10 percent of the minimum instructional hours. (1)(3)
On the other hand, habitual truancy refers to unexcused absences. Under Ohio law, a student is considered habitually truant after missing 30 consecutive hours, 42 hours in one month, or 72 hours in one school year without any legitimate excuse. (1)
Some cases allow a student to be chronically absent without being habitually truant. If there are several excused medical absences, a student might reach the threshold of chronic absenteeism, but he/she will not be classified as habitually truant due to these hours.
In addition, separate legal actions are required for habitual truancy. Once a student reaches the threshold of habitual truancy, the school must provide information about the legal actions to the student’s family. A juvenile court complaint is required if the family is not making satisfactory efforts to improve attendance. (1)
When Will Parents Be Contacted?
Nowadays, the school is supposed to contact a parent/guardian when the student has missed at least 5 percent of the minimum instructional hours. In this case, the estimated period is 45-50 hours or 7.5 – 8.5 school days, depending on the grade level. (1)(3)
It is possible to contact parents at an earlier stage if the student starts to miss two or three school days each month or if a pattern is observed. Moreover, the updated policies should include increased levels of support based on the student's needs, chronic absenteeism prevention strategies, and an absence intervention team. (1)(3)
According to WKYC, the new laws moved Ohio’s attendance requirements closer to early identification and assistance to at-risk students. (2)
What is an Excused Absence?
According to the Ohio laws, an absence can be excused in the case of the following reasons: illness of the student, illness in the family, requiring the student’s presence, quarantine at home, death of a relative, medical or behavioral health appointment, dental appointment, religious observance, college visit, and others depending on the specific situation related to foster care, homelessness, military family member’s deployment, or an emergency situation. (4)
The school’s policy provides information on how to report an absence and what kind of documentation might be required. In most cases, it is not necessary to present a doctor’s note to get an absence excused. The school may document it through a medical note, a conversation with a parent, or another process approved by local policy. (1)(4)
Therefore, when a student misses school due to a health problem, you must contact the school to report the absence and follow the school’s requirements. Otherwise, the absence might be considered unexcused. (4)(5)
A Note for the Families of the Students Attending Online Community Schools
In an online school, attendance is usually evaluated through the student’s participation, not through visits to the building and logging in. According to Ohio law, instructional activity includes factors such as online learning, completed assignments, testing, offline work, meetings, and documented communications with school staff. (6)
Depending on the school and program, the family should know the school’s attendance policy and how it records participation and course progress. Families can also inform the school about obstacles that prevent a student from participating.
Actions Families Can Take to Decrease Absences
A student's absences are not necessarily a question of the family's desire to let a child skip classes. Various factors can interfere with attendance, such as illness, transport problems, anxiety, bullying, housing changes, responsibilities, and many others. The right solution is to identify the obstacle and address it.
Attendance works best as a partnership
If the school contacts the family regarding the student's attendance, it does not mean that the family made a mistake. Schools are supposed to monitor missed instructional hours and are obliged to reach out to the family earlier.
It is a great opportunity to ask how many hours a student missed and whether the school noticed any tendencies. Families can help to identify the problem, and the schools can provide appropriate resources. Collaboration of both sides brings the best results.
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