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Delano Union School District

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District School Attendance Review Board (DSARB)

School Attendance Review Boards

Information about school attendance review boards (SARBs) that are composed of school and community members who meet regularly to diagnose and resolve persistent student attendance or behavior problems.

California compulsory education law requires everyone between the ages of six and eighteen years of age to attend school, except students who have graduated from high school or passed the California Proficiency Program and obtained parental permission. Some students, however, violate compulsory education laws and have a pattern of unexcused absences. Although truancy and excessive absenteeism are not new problems, they cause costly, long-term problems for the students, school, and the community.

In 1974, the Legislature enacted California Education Code (EC) Section 48320External link opens in new window or tab. to enhance the enforcement of compulsory education laws and to divert students with school attendance or behavior patterns from the juvenile justice system until all available resources have been exhausted. EC Section 48321External link opens in new window or tab. provides several organizational structures for School Attendance Review Boards (SARBs) at the local and county level to create a safety net for students with persistent attendance or behavior problems. Although the goal of SARBs is to keep students in school and provide them with a meaningful educational experience, SARBs do have the power, when necessary, to refer students and their parents or guardians to court.

County or Local SARBs

SARBs, composed of representatives from various youth-serving agencies, help truant or recalcitrant students and their parents or guardians solve school attendance and behavior patterns through the use of available school and community resources. County SARBs are convened by the county superintendent at the beginning of each school year. In any county where no county SARB exists, a school district governing board may elect to establish a local SARB, which shall operate in the same manner and have the same authority as a county SARB. In many counties, the county SARB provides consultant services to the local SARBs.