Dear County and District Superintendents, Charter School Administrators, and School Attendance Review Board Chairpersons:

Model School Attendance Review Board
Recognition Program 2020–21

You are cordially invited to participate in the 2020–21 Model School Attendance Review Board (SARB) Recognition Program, which is sponsored by the California Department of Education (CDE) in cooperation with the California Association of Supervisors of Child Welfare and Attendance (CASCWA).

This program has been revised to identify and recognize multi-tiered attendance improvement programs at the district or county level which have adapted to our current circumstances during the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Student attendance or participation is as crucial as ever, but many attendance interventions have been modified to address school closures. However, when a student has a persistent attendance or participation problem which exhausts the resources of the school, a referral to a SARB for more intensive intervention that links the student to necessary district or community resources is still appropriate.

California Education Code Section 43504(f) requires each local educational agency (LEA) to develop written procedures for tiered reengagement for all pupils who are absent from distance learning, and compulsory education continues to apply for the 2020–21 school year. Many districts and county offices have developed tiered reengagement strategies that can serve as models for other LEAs in the state that are striving to reduce chronic absenteeism rates during the COVID-19 pandemic.

This year, there will be only three content areas in the application. Applicants must describe the student population they serve, describe key areas of their Learning Continuity and Attendance Plan, and provide three letters of support from their partners or families.

The CDE encourages county and local SARBs that meet the eligibility criteria to submit an application to the Model SARB Recognition Program.

SARB chairpersons who intend to submit an application must complete the Intent to Submit form online at https://surveys2.cde.ca.gov/go/its2020-21modelsarb.asp [NOTE: the preceding link is no longer available] in order to be considered for Model SARB status. The online intent form is due by Friday, December 18, 2020, at 4 p.m. Submission of the online form does not obligate the SARB chairperson to submit an application.

The 2020–21 Model SARB Application is available on the CDE Model SARB Recognition Program web page at https://www.cde.ca.gov/ls/ai/sb/modelrecognition.asp. Applications are due on January 22, 2021, by 4 p.m. The application must be submitted electronically in accordance with the instructions included in the application.

Model SARB Recognition Program award recipients will be recognized at the virtual Annual CASCWA State Conference scheduled for April 26–27, 2021.

If you have any questions regarding this subject, please contact David Kopperud, Education Programs Consultant, Educational Options Office, by phone at 916-323-1028 or by email at dkopperud@cde.ca.gov [Note: the preceding contact informationi is no longer valid. Please contact the Educational Options Office at cwa.cde.ca.gov.].

Sincerely,

Tony Thurmond

TT:dk
2020-06457