Morehouse Parish School District > Departments

Child Welfare And Attendance

Ralph Davenport
CWA Supervisor
Phone: 318-283-3474
Stacy Hammonds
SIS Coordinator
Phone: 318-283-3467

Information

Child Welfare and Attendance is a specialized student support service that covers compliance with compulsory education laws, student admission and enrollment procedures, student discipline procedures, transfers to alternative programs, school climate, health and safety. Child Welfare and Attendance combines the knowledge and skill of counseling with knowledge of education and the law to resolve complicated situations involving school choice, student discipline, campus safety, and programs for high-risk youth.

We are located at the Morehouse Parish School Board Office at 4099 NaffStreet, Bastrop, Louisiana. We are open from 7:30 AM to 4:30 PM. Please call (318) 283-3467 for additional assistance.

Assignments To Schools

Students must attend school in the district where their biological parents or legal guardians reside. Proof of residence is required in the form of a utility bill, driver's license, vehicle registration, rent or lease receipt, homestead exemption notice, city or parish tax notice, etc. The only exception to this policy is a special assignment.

Attendance Of Students

Elementary students that miss more than 16 days (excused or unexcused) during a school term will not receive credit for the term. High school students that miss more than 8 days (excused or unexcused) during a school semester will not receive credit for that semester's work.

The only exception to the attendance regulation will be extenuating circumstances that are verified by the Supervisor of Child Welfare and Attendance. Extenuating circumstances must be cleared within five school days of the student's return to school. No absence of less than 5 consecutive days will be considered for junior high and high school students. Students who are verified as meeting extenuating circumstances and therefore eligible to receive grades shall not receive those grades if they are unable to complete makeup work or pass the course or grade.

The principal of each school, or his designee, shall notify the parent or legal guardian in writing upon a student's third unexcused absence or unexcused occurrence of being tardy, and shall hold a conference with the student's parent or legal guardian. The student's parent or legal guardian shall sign a receipt for such notification. The term "tardy" shall include arriving at school unexcused after the tardy bell and before twenty five percent of the instructional day has passed, or checking out of school unexcused prior to the regularly scheduled dismissal time at the end of the school day not exceeding twenty five percent of the instructional day.

Employment Of Minors And Work Permit

Services for Child Welfare is currently under construction. Please come back later.

Expulsion Hearing Summary

Louisiana law states that in order to expel a student from school, there must be a recommendation for expulsion from the school. Following this recommendation, there will be a hearing conducted by the Superintendent or the Superintendent's designee. Ralph Davenport, as the Supervisor of Child Welfare & Attendance, is the designated Hearing Officer for the Morehouse Parish School System. Present at this hearing should be the student who allegedly committed the violation, the student's parents/guardians, representatives and witnesses from the school, the Superintendent of the school district or his designee, witnesses, and the attorney for the school board. The student may be represented by counsel of his choice.

At the hearing, the principal or other person seeking the expulsion of the student shall present information regarding the violations the student has committed and the reasons for the recommendation for expulsion. Following that presentation, the student and/or his/her representative may present witnesses and respond to the charges. After the response the issues will be discussed and/or considered in detail and the Superintendent or his designee shall make a decision regarding the student's future educational placement.

There are three outcomes that may result from the hearing. Upon the conclusion of the hearing and upon a finding by the Hearing Officer that the student is guilty of conduct warranting the expulsion, the Hearing Officer shall determine whether the student shall be expelled from the school for the remainder of the school year, or up to four complete school semesters, depending upon the violation and the age of the student. The Hearing Officer may determine that other corrective or disciplinary action shall be taken. Thirdly, the Hearing Officer may determine that the student was not guilty of conduct warranting an expulsion. The parent will receive a copy of the Hearing Officer's decision in writing. The parent or guardian of the student may, within five days after the decision is rendered, request the school board to review the findings at a time set by the school board. The school board may confirm, modify of reverse the action previously taken. Within ten days after the decision of the school board, the parent or guardian of the pupil may appeal to the District Court the adverse ruling of the school board in upholding the action of the Superintendent or his designee. The court may reverse or revise the ruling of the school board based upon a finding that the ruling of the board was based on an absence of any relevant evidence in support of it.

If you wish to give up your rights to a hearing and concur with the expulsion, you may do so by signing a concurrence doing away with the need for the hearing.

Home Schooling

Information and application for home schooling is provided by the Office of Child Welfare & Attendance.

Requirements For Student Registration

Birth Certificate
Immunization Records
Social Security Card
Proof of residence: current utility bill, drivers license, vehicle registration, homestead exemption, vehicle insurance, etc. in the parent/guardian's name
Student's withdrawal form from previous school, as well as last report card
All documentation for additional services needed: special education (IEP), 504 accommodations (IAP), medical needs, legal issues, etc.

Safe Schools Program

Crisis Response and Safe School Plan Development
Gang Risk Intervention
Tobacco Use Prevention and Safe and Drug Free Schools

School Nurse Services

School nurses provide selected health services in all schools. Each school has an assigned school nurse who is on call at the school. Do not send any medication to school with your child without clearance by a school nurse. You may contact a school nurse by calling your child's school or by contacting the Child Welfare & Attendance Office at 283-3474.

School Records

Copies of school records may be requested from the Office of Child Welfare & Attendance.

School-Wide Positive Behavior Support

A major advance in school-wide discipline is the emphasis on school-wide systems of support that include proactive strategies for defining, teaching, and supporting appropriate student behaviors to create positive school environments. Instead of using a patchwork of individual behavioral managements plans, a continuum of positive behavior support for all students within a school is implemented in areas including the classroom and non-classroom settings (such as hallways, restrooms, playground). Positive behavior support is an application of a behaviorally-based systems approach to enhance the capacity of schools, families, and communities to design effective environments that improve the link between research validated practices and the environments in which teaching and learning occur. Attention is focused on creating and sustaining systems of support for all children and youth by making problem behavior less effective, efficient, and relevant, and desired behavior more functional. For more information about Positive Behavior Support go to: http://www.lapositivebehavior.com/

Special Assignments Out Of Zone

Special Assignments for regular education students to attend a school out of their designated school zone will be granted only under the following guidelines:

Through the majority-minority ruling of the court order ( A student attending school in which he is in the majority race may request special assignment to a school where he/she will be in the minority race). This applies for students in grades K-12.
School Board employees may request special assignment for their child to attend the school where they work. This applies for students in grades K-12.
If an employee is not assigned to one particular school or does not work at a school that can accommodate the grades that their child/children are in, then that employee can choose a school under special assignment for their child/children to attend. Once a school is chosen, their child/children can only attend that school and must stay at the school until they finish the highest grade at that school, or return to the school district where they reside. This stipulation applies to grades K-6 only. Children in grades 7-12 will attend school in the district where they reside.

If overcrowding results from special assignments, then the special assignment students will have to be moved. Special assignments are made from year to year and a request must be made for each school year.

Student Suspensions, Expulsions And Appeals

Prior to any suspension, the school principal, or his/her designee, shall advise the pupil in question of the particular misconduct of which the pupil is accused as well as the basis for such accusation, and the pupil shall be given an opportunity at that time to explain the pupil's version of the facts to the school principal or the principal's designee. In each case of suspension or expulsion the school principal, or the principal's designee, shall contact by telephone at the telephone number shown on the pupil's registration card or send a certified letter at the address shown on the pupil's registration card to the parent, tutor or legal guardian of the pupil in question giving notice of the suspension or expulsion, the reason(s) therefore and establishing a date and time for a conference with the principal or his designee as a requirement for readmitting the pupil, provided that in case of expulsion, the contact with the parent, guardian, or tutor shall include a certified letter.

Any parent, tutor, or legal guardian of a pupil suspended shall have the right to appeal to the Superintendent of schools. The Superintendent or his designee shall conduct a hearing on the merits. The Appeal Of Suspension Form must be completed by and received from the parent, tutor, or legal guardian of the student by the principal or principal's designee within five (5) days of the first date of the suspension. The principal or his designee shall complete the response and forward the form and the principal's response and any attached documents to the Superintendent within two school days of the principal's receipt of the Appeal of Suspension Form. Upon receipt of the Appeal Of Suspension Form, the Superintendent will schedule a hearing as expeditiously as possible and within five (5) days of the Superintendent's hearing, the superintendent shall mail a decision to the principal and parent, tutor, or legal guardian of the student unless additional information is required by the Superintendent before a decision can be made. Any suspension shall be final and not appeasable if it is not appealed within the manner and time frame set forth in this policy. The decision of the Superintendent of schools on the merits of the case, as well as the term of suspension, shall be final, reserving to the Superintendent of schools the right to remit any portion of the time of the suspension.

Transfers Within The District

Students transferring from one school to another within the district must request an exit form from the school they are leaving. The exit form along with proof of residence must be brought to the Child Welfare and Attendance Office. A letter of assignment to the new school will be provided by the Child Welfare and Attendance Office to be carried to the new school.