Recommended Attendance Setup
Introduction
Indiana customers are expected to record attendance for all students on a daily basis using an attendance code that is mapped to one of the values defined below. If a defined attendance code is not recorded for a student, the attendance record is not created. This can cause issues when attempting to reconcile the attendance data in PowerSchool with the attendance data that has been sent to Data Exchange.
To ensure that an attendance code is entered for every student, PowerSchool recommends that districts enable the following option on the Attendance Preferences page for each school:
Prevent Attendance page submit if blank attendance is used (PowerTeacher)
Attendance Codes
Create at least one attendance code for each of the following state-defined categories. Existing codes can also be used as they can be mapped to one of these values:
Applicable Student Group(s) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
State Attendance Category | Category description | Counts as / Category | Virtual | Non-virtual |
In Attendance | This code should be used when a student is considered "in attendance" at the physical school building, pursuant to the local attendance policy. | Present | x | |
Virtual | This code should be used when a student is considered "in attendance" at the virtual program or virtual school. | Present | x | |
Virtual due to COVID-19 | This code should be used when a school must provide virtual instruction in lieu of in-person instruction due to COVID-19, and a student is considered "in attendance". | Present | x | |
Excused Absence | This code should be used when a student is not "in attendance" and such absence is deemed "excused". | Counts as: Absent Category: Excused | x | x |
Unexcused Absence | This code should be used when a student is not "in attendance" and such absence is deemed "not excused". | Counts as: Absent Category: Unexcused | x | x |
Exempt | This code should be used when a student is not "in attendance" but is participating in one of the activities that are exempt by statute from consideration as an "absence". | Present | x | x |
Suspended | This code should be used when a student has been suspended pursuant to the local discipline policy. Applies to 'out-of-school' suspensions only. | Absent | x | x |
Expelled | This code should be used when a student has been expelled pursuant to the local discipline policy. | Absent | x | x |
Attendance Settings
Recording
- Attendance recording methods
- Make sure Meeting mode is enabled. Other modes - such as Daily, can also be enabled as desired.
To ensure Meeting attendance is published successfully, choose the Use ATT_ModeMeeting records only option for Attendance Mode for Ed-Fi in the Recommended Attendance Setup. If Use ATT_ModeDaily records only is selected for Attendance Mode for Ed-Fi then the Meeting attendance does not publish.
- Meeting and daily attendance bridge
- If you have enabled both Meeting and Daily attendance recording methods (above), be sure to set the bridge to "Two-way, keep records in sync".
Calculating and Reporting
- Recommended setting: Count these codes for period conversion: Presents
FTE
- Values for all settings on this page should be defined based on local needs.
Bell Schedule(s)
- If you have enabled both Meeting and Daily attendance recording methods (above):
- For each bell schedule, designate which period should be used to report a Daily code. This will allow you to run local attendance reports using Daily mode if desired, as long as the Meeting and Daily Attendance Bridge is set to Two-way.
Attendance Conversions
- Values for all settings on this page should be defined based on local needs.
Defining Local Processes
Each district should follow the guidance provided by the state regarding attendance recording practices. This includes the need to record attendance using a mapped attendance code for every student at least once per day - twice if you need to report half-day increments of differing values (eg: .5 Virtual plus .5 Excused Absence, or any other combination of half-day values).