5120.2: Withdrawals for Purposes of Exemption from Mandatory Attendance Requirements

I. Withdrawal Procedure for Purposes of Exemption from Mandatory Attendance Requirements. 

 A. A person who has legal or actual charge or control of a student who is at least sixteen (16) years of age but less than eighteen (18) years of age may withdraw such student from school before graduation and be exempt from the mandatory attendance requirements of Neb. Rev. Stat. §79-201 if an exit interview is conducted and the withdrawal form is signed as required by subsections I(B) through I(F) of this Rule. 

B. Upon the written request of any person who has legal or actual charge or control of a student who is at least sixteen (16) years of age but less than eighteen (18) years of age, the Superintendent or designee shall conduct an exit interview if the student is enrolled in a school operated by the District, or resides in the District and is enrolled in a private, denominational, or parochial school.

C. The Superintendent or designee shall set the time and place for the exit interview which shall be personally attended by the student, unless the withdrawal is being requested due to an illness of the student making attendance at the exit interview impossible or impracticable. The exit interview shall also be attended by the person who has legal or actual charge or control of the student who requested the exit interview, the Superintendent or designee, and the student’s principal or designee if the student at the time of the exit interview is enrolled in a District school. Other persons may also attend the exit interview, if such attendance is requested by any of the required parties and they agree to attend the exit interview and are available at the time designated for the exit interview. Such other persons may include, but need not be limited to, other District personnel or the student’s principal or such principal’s designee if the student is enrolled in a private, denominational, or parochial school. 

D. At the exit interview, the person making the written request shall present evidence that they have legal or actual charge or control of the student, and that the student would be withdrawing due to either financial hardships requiring the student to be employed to support the student’s family or one or more dependents of the student, or an illness of the student making attendance impossible or impracticable. The Superintendent or designee shall identify all known alternative educational opportunities, including vocational courses of study, that are available to the student in the District and how withdrawing from school is likely to reduce future earnings for the student and increase the likelihood of the student being unemployed in the future. Any other relevant information may also be presented and discussed by any of the parties in attendance. 

E. At the conclusion of the exit interview, the person making the written request may sign the withdrawal of the student or may rescind the written request for the withdrawal. 

F. Any withdrawal form signed by the person making the written request shall be valid only if the student signs the form unless the withdrawal is being requested due to an illness of the student making attendance at the exit interview impossible or impracticable, and the Superintendent or designee signs the form acknowledging that the interview was held, the required information was provided and discussed at the interview, and, in the opinion of the Superintendent or designee, the person making the written request does in fact have legal or actual charge or control of the student and the student is experiencing either financial hardships requiring the student to be employed to support the student’s family or one or more dependents of the student, or an illness making attendance impossible or impracticable. 

G. A person who has legal or actual charge or control of a student who is at least sixteen (16) years of age but less than eighteen (18) years of age may withdraw the student before graduation and be exempt from the mandatory attendance requirements of Neb. Rev. Stat. § 79-201 if such student has been enrolled in a school that elects pursuant to Neb. Rev. Stat. § 79-1601 not to meet the accreditation or approval requirements by filing with the State Department of Education a signed and notarized release on a form prescribed by the Nebraska Commissioner of Education. 

H. A student who has been withdrawn from school pursuant to this Rule may enroll in a school district at a later date as provided in Neb. Rev. Stat. § 79-215 or may enroll in a private, denominational, or parochial school or a school which elects pursuant to Neb. Rev. Stat. § 79-1601 not to meet accreditation or approval requirements. Any such enrollment shall void the withdrawal form previously entered, and the provisions of Neb. Rev. Stat. §§ 79-201 to 79-210 shall apply to the student. 

II. The District shall submit to the State Department of Education the withdrawal forms or data regarding students who have withdrawn from school pursuant to this Rule, in accordance with the requirement of state law.