Pupil attendance: excused absences: religious observance.

Plain English Breakdown

The official source does not provide details on the extent of additional duties or specific funding provisions beyond mentioning a potential state-mandated local program.

Excused Absences for Religious Observance

This law makes observing religious holidays and ceremonies an excused absence without requiring a written note from parents or approval from the principal.

What This Bill Does

• Includes observance of a holiday or ceremony of the pupil’s religion as a type of required excused absence without needing a written request by the parent or guardian and approval by the principal.

Who It Names or Affects

• Students who want to miss school for religious reasons.
• Local educational agencies and their principals.

Terms To Know

state-mandated local program

A program where the state requires local schools or districts to do something, which may need funding from the state.

Limits and Unknowns

• The bill does not specify how many days of religious observance are excused.
• It is unclear if this will change how often students miss school for religious reasons.

Official Summary Text

AB 1763, as introduced, Lee.
Pupil attendance: excused absences: religious observance.
Existing law, notwithstanding the requirement that each person between 6 and 18 years of age who is not otherwise exempted is subject to compulsory full-time education, requires a pupil to be excused from school for specified types of absences, including, among others, for justifiable personal reasons when the pupil’s absence is requested in writing by the parent or guardian and approved by the principal or a designated representative, as provided. Existing law specifies that a justifiable personal reason includes observance of a holiday or ceremony of the pupil’s religion.
This bill would include observance of a holiday or ceremony of the pupil’s religion as a type of required excused absence without the requirement that the absence be requested in writing by the parent or guardian and approved by the principal or a designated representative. To
the extent that this bill would impose additional duties on local educational agencies, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.
This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.

Current Bill Text

Download Bill PDF