The Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District board reviewed sweeping revisions to nine student services policies at its Jan. 22 meeting, updating regulations that in some cases haven't been changed since 2009.
Director of Student Services Frank Dussan presented the policy changes, which primarily align district regulations with recent state legislation and California School Boards Association guidelines. The revisions will return for formal approval at the board's Feb. 5 meeting.
"A lot of the language and the new policies, it's really writing down practices that a lot of our districts, including ourselves, are implementing," Dussan told board members.
The changes span four main areas: attendance and truancy, student employment, safety transfers, and administrative updates.
Among the most significant revisions are updates to chronic absence and truancy policies, which now emphasize intervention over punishment. The district retitled its truancy policy to "Chronic Absence and Truancy" and incorporated requirements from Senate Bill 153 and Assembly Bill 176, which authorize attendance recovery programs for students in grades transitional kindergarten through 12.
The updated regulations clearly define terms like "chronic truant" versus "habitual truant" to ensure legal clarity. They also mandate a trauma-informed approach to engaging families and require periodic reports to the board on student attendance patterns.
The district expanded its list of excused absences to include students spending time with immediate family members who are active-duty military personnel. Students also will no longer need multiple forms of verification for absences—a single phone call, email or voicemail will suffice.
Notably, the policy clarifies that students at any grade level cannot be required to provide parent or guardian consent before being absent for confidential medical services.
Work permit regulations received substantial updates under AB 908, which prohibits districts from considering grades or attendance when issuing permits during extended campus closures due to natural disasters, pandemics or emergencies. Students receiving work permits now must be provided documentation explaining their basic labor rights. High school graduates will receive a "certificate of age" rather than a work permit for employment purposes.
The district also formalized requirements for full-time work permits, which now require an in-person meeting with both the student and parent or guardian. Board member Richard Tahvildaran-Jesswein asked about the criteria for approving full-time permits. Dussan explained such cases are rare and typically occur when employers don't offer part-time positions, rather than due to family financial need. One student currently has been approved, he said.
New safety provisions allow the district to involuntarily transfer students convicted of violent felonies or firearm-related misdemeanors if they attend the same school as their victim, under SB 1343. Such transfers apply only within the district, not to outside schools, and the receiving school must meet the student's program needs, including special education services.
The district also created a new priority category for inter-district transfers for bullying victims under AB 1127. When requested by parents, the district must assist with transportation for bullying victims who qualify for free and reduced-price meals or are children of active-duty military personnel. Dussan noted the district already works with neighboring districts on transfer agreements and plans to formalize written agreements with Beverly Hills and other nearby districts soon.
The board recommended deleting policies related to the Open Enrollment Act entirely. The California Department of Education no longer identifies schools using the Academic Performance Index, making the program obsolete. The district also consolidated its open and closed campus policies, moving procedural details from administrative regulations into board policy to match CSBA formatting standards.
Dussan emphasized that while the revisions introduce new legal language, they largely codify practices already in place. The district currently operates attendance recovery programs, provides trauma-informed interventions through partnerships with USC and UCLA, and maintains student support groups at Santa Monica and Malibu high schools. Following approval, the district's online policy manual will be updated and management teams will be notified of the changes.