A Comparative Case Study Examining Attendance and Truancy Policies amongst Building Principals, Truancy Officers, and District Magistrates in Western Pennsylvania Public Secondary Schools

The purpose of this study is to examine the process in which secondary public school principals, truancy officers, and district magistrates follow while enforcing Pennsylvania attendance and truancy policies. As mandates are assigned to public school systems by the Pennsylvania Department of Education that increase accountability for student performance and improved teacher effectiveness, attendance has been included as criteria that contributes to the evaluation of such mandates. Although the Pennsylvania Department of Education provides public schools with recommended guidelines to monitor and address attendance and truancy issues, it is not required that all school districts adhere to the same policies while governing attendance and truancy and allows individual school districts to develop their own policies and procedures. Typically within a Pennsylvania public school system, there are three supervisory roles that monitor and enforce district attendance and truancy policies including building principals, truancy officers, and local district magistrates, each of which have different responsibilities within the system.;This study will use a comparative case study approach, examining the differences in how building principals, truancy officers, and district magistrates understand, interpret and enforce district policies pertaining to truancy and attendance in a rural, suburban, and urban setting in Western Pennsylvania. The researcher will conduct a personal interview with a district representative who is employed in each role in the three different community settings to reveal similarities and misalignment in how their individual policies are interpreted and enforced as well as their personal opinions and experiences while addressing truancy and attendance issues. The researcher will also review school district board policies to examine the differences and/or similarities in approach between rural, suburban, and urban settings.