The Calcasieu Parish School Board Office of Child Welfare and Attendance welcomes you to the 2008-2009 school year.  All Calcasieu Parish students are valuable and important to us as well as to you as parents.  We are making diligent efforts to provide a successful school experience for every child.  In order for your child to receive the maximum benefits from the school system, regular attendance is essential.  Please assist us in establishing a pattern of good attendance that will stay with your child throughout his/her school years.

We do understand that students become ill or have other reasons to be absent from school.  It is most important that each and every absence be documented at the school with a note from the parents or from a physician substantiating an illness or the reason for the student's absence.  It is imperative that your child arrives on time to begin his day and remain at school until the end of the school day.   We are asking for your support and cooperation as your children, our students, are our primary concern.

The Louisiana Compulsory School Attendance Law, R. S. 17:221, mandates that all children residing in the State of Louisiana between the ages of seven and eighteen must be enrolled in a public or private day school.  The State Compulsory Attendance law also applies to any child below the age of seven who legally enrolls in school.  In addition, state and local attendance policies require students in grades one through eight to be in attendance one hundred sixty (160) days of the school year in order to receive credit for the year's work.  Students in grades nine through twelve are required to be in attendance eighty (80) days per semester in order to receive credit for the courses being taken.

The Office of Child Welfare and Attendance is mandated by state law to enforce the compulsory school attendance law and is available to help children and parents comply with such law.  We would like to extend our help and services to ensure that your children, our students, have a most successful and rewarding school year in the Calcasieu Parish School System.