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SDLA Compliance Resource

Notify the Family and Schedule a School Attendance Meeting After Continued Truancy

A SECOND NOTICE guide for reporting another unexcused occurrence, convening the pupil-and-parent meeting, identifying barriers, and documenting the conference effort required before habitual-truancy escalation.

  • Attendance
  • Truancy
Date(s)After a pupil already reported as truant is again absent without valid excuse or tardy on one or more days
Applies toSchool districts continuing the same-school-year truancy process

In Plain Language: After the FIRST NOTICE, another unexcused absence or tardy requires the pupil to be reported again as a truant. The SECOND NOTICE tells the family that attendance concerns continued and schedules a meeting with the pupil and parent or guardian. That meeting is the practical opportunity to correct the record, identify barriers, provide services, and establish a documented attendance plan.

Why this matters

A second letter without a real meeting effort does not create the evidence needed for effective intervention or later habitual-truancy action. Before habitual classification, an appropriate employee must make a conscientious effort to hold at least one conference with the parent or guardian and pupil.

Joint ownership

Record owner: attendance staff. Meeting lead: administrator, attendance supervisor, or school attendance review team. Support partners: pupil, family, counselor, nurse, social worker, mental-health, transportation, homeless/foster liaison, and special education/504 as applicable.

From a repeat unexcused absence to a second notice and attendance meeting: the SDLA ITO workflow

The second notice is not yet habitual truancy: it brings the family to a meeting to find barriers and supports. This SDLA ITO (Input, Transformation, Output) graphic shows how the prior first notice, the new unexcused absence or tardy, and the pupil's attendance record become the report and notice, the conference notes and plan, and the contact-attempt record.

SDLA ITO: eleven steps from the prior first notice, the new unexcused absence or tardy, and the pupil's attendance record, through verifying the new occurrence, the second report and notice, and the meeting, to the report and notice, the conference notes and plan, and the contact-attempt record.
Read down each column, then move to the next: Input identifies what to collect; Transformation covers verifying the new occurrence, the second report and notice, and the meeting; Output covers the report and notice, the conference notes and plan, and the contact-attempt record. Report the pupil again and schedule the meeting after another unexcused absence or tardy.

Open the full-size workflow graphic

Three-document attendance sequence

EARLY ABSENCE NOTICEPromptly report the unexcused absence, verify the record, and offer support. This is not yet a truancy classification.
FIRST NOTICEAfter the Education Code section 48260 threshold is met, issue the complete initial truancy notice required by section 48260.5.
SECOND NOTICEAfter another unexcused absence or tardy, report the pupil again and schedule the pupil-and-parent attendance meeting.

Operational workflow

  1. Verify the new unexcused absence or tardy and confirm that the prior section 48260.5 notice was validly issued.
  2. Report the pupil again under section 48261 and issue a prominent SECOND NOTICE with the meeting date, participation options, and contact information.
  3. Prepare a pupil-level attendance record separating excused, unexcused, tardy, chronic-absence, and truancy facts.
  4. Meet with the pupil and parent/guardian to identify barriers, correct errors, offer supports, and document an attendance plan and follow-up date.
  5. Record all contact attempts; monitor for a third report and do not advance unless the statutory gates are satisfied.

Evidence to retain

  • Prior FIRST NOTICE and delivery/contact evidence
  • New qualifying occurrence and second truancy report
  • SECOND NOTICE and scheduled meeting information
  • Attendance record, conference notes, barriers, supports, and plan
  • Conscientious communication attempts and follow-up monitoring

Official guidance and help

Source review completed August 30, 2026. Verify current law, official guidance, local policy, language access, individual circumstances, and the exact persisted attendance or pupil-record state before acting.