299.1 Attendance requirements — attendance policies.
585 words·~3 min read·
/ia/chapter-299-compulsory-education/299-1A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.
1. Except as provided in section 299.2, the parent, guardian, or legal or actual custodian of a child who is of compulsory attendance age shall cause the child to attend some public school or an accredited nonpublic school, or place the child under competent private instruction or independent private instruction in accordance with the provisions of chapter 299A, during a school year, as defined under section 279.10.
2. a. The board of directors of a public school district or the governing body of an accredited nonpublic school shall set the number of days or hours of required attendance for the schools under its control.
b. The board of directors of a public school district or the governing body of an accredited nonpublic school may, by resolution, require attendance for the entire time when the schools are in session in any school year.
3. The board of directors of a public school district shall adopt a policy related to absenteeism and truancy. The policy may contain attendance requirements that are more stringent than the attendance requirements established under this chapter.
4. a. The board of directors of a public school district shall adopt a policy or rules relating to children who are chronically absent. The policy or rules must contain provisions that clearly explain all of the following:
(1)How the board of directors determines whether a child is chronically absent.
(2)The different interventions that the board of directors may use when a child is chronically absent.
(3)The different penalties associated with a child being chronically absent.
b. The policy or rules adopted by the board of directors of a public school district pursuant to paragraph “a” must not apply to any child:
(1)Who has completed the requirements for graduation in a public school district or has obtained a high school equivalency diploma under chapter 259A.
(2)Who is excused for sufficient reason by any court of record or judge.
(3)While attending religious services or receiving religious instructions.
(4)Who is unable to attend school due to legitimate medical reasons.
(5)Who has an individualized education program that affects the child’s attendance.
(6)Who has a plan under section 504 of the federal Rehabilitation Act, 29 U.S.C. §794, that affects the child’s attendance.
(7)Who is a military applicant undergoing military entrance processing.
(8)Who is engaged in military service.
(9)Who is traveling to attend a funeral.
(10)Who is traveling to attend a wedding.
(11)While attending a course in religious instruction pursuant to section 299.1D.
c. The policy or rules adopted by the board of directors of a public school district pursuant to paragraph “a” must describe how the exceptions described in paragraph “b” may be met by a child and must give reasonable consideration to travel time.
[S13, §2823-a; C24, 27, 31, 35, 39, §4410; C46, 50, 54, 58, 62, 66, 71, 73, 75, 77, 79, 81, §299.1]
83 Acts, ch 17, §2, 4; 85 Acts, ch 6, §3; 88 Acts, ch 1087, §2; 88 Acts, ch 1259, §2, 3; 89 Acts, ch 265, §41; 91 Acts, ch 200, §3; 2010 Acts, ch 1061, §50; 2013 Acts, ch 121, §83, 85, 91; 2024 Acts, ch 1152, §14; 2025 Acts, ch 52, §2, 3; 2025 Acts, ch 143, §1
Referred to in §234.4, 279.10, 299.1D, 299.2, 299.6, 299.8, 299.11, 299A.1, 321.178A
See Code editor’s note on simple harmonization at the beginning of this Code volume
Subsection 4, paragraph b, NEW subparagraphs
(7)–
Subsection 4, NEW paragraph c