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OLR Bill Analysis
sHB 6508
AN ACT CONCERNING REMOTE LEARNING ATTENDANCE.
SUMMARY
This bill allows local and regional school boards, starting with the
2021-2022 school year, to authorize schools to instruct students in
grades nine to 12 on a virtual platform or as part of a remote learning
model, provided the board specifies the requirements for student
attendance during this instruction.
Under the bill, this type of instruction must be considered an actual
school session, so long as the school board authorized its use. It
requires the State Board of Education (SBE) to change its definitions of
“excused absence” and “unexcused absence” to exclude school
sessions conducted in this manner.
EFFECTIVE DATE: Upon passage, except the provision requiring
remote instruction to be considered an actual school session takes
effect July 1, 2021.
BACKGROUND
Excused and Unexcused Absences
Under current SBE policy, the following absences are considered
excused:
1. for absences one through nine, when the student provides
written documentation (i.e., a signed note from a parent or
guardian) of the reason for the absence within 10 school days of
the student’s return to school.
2. for the tenth and all further absences, the same written
documentation is needed and only the following reasons
suffice: (a) student illness (with appropriate verification from a
medical professional), (b) observance of a religious holiday, (c) 2021HB-06508-R000163-BA.DOCX
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family death or other emergency beyond the family’s control,
(d) mandated court appearance, (e) lack of transportation
normally provided by the district, or (f) extraordinary
educational opportunity pre-approved by the district in
accordance with SBE guidance.
An absence is considered unexcused unless it meets one of the
criteria of an excused absence or is a disciplinary absence (i.e., the
result of school or district disciplinary action).
COMMITTEE ACTION
Committee on Children
Joint Favorable Substitute
Yea 13 Nay 0 (03/11/2021)