Dropout Reporting

Reference Documents:

South Carolina's Compulsory Attendance Laws

In South Carolina, compulsory attendance laws are in place to ensure that all children receive an education. These laws mandate that children between the ages of 5 and 17 must attend school.

The South Carolina State Board of Education defines a dropout as a student who leaves school for any reason, except death, before graduating or completing their course of studies without transferring to another school. Additional criteria include:

- Students enrolled in the previous school year who did not re-enroll at the start of the current school year.

- Students who were enrolled in the previous school year, re-enrolled at the start of the current school year, but left before October 1 (or October 2 if October 1 falls on a Sunday).

- Students who leave elementary or secondary school to enroll in adult education or a program preparing for the GED exam.

- Exclusion of students who are temporarily absent due to suspension, long-term illness, or emergencies, unless the school system monitors their enrollment and designates them as dropouts if they leave the program.

School Year

For school dropout reporting purposes, the term "school year" spans from October 1 to September 30, covering the entire twelve-month period including summer. Students who reenroll after dropping out during the previous school year and leave again before October 1 of the current school year are counted within this collection cycle. For instance, a student who dropped out in March 2024, returned in August 2024, but dropped out again by September 21, 2024, would be reported as a dropout in the 2023-24 count.

Grade Levels

Dropout data in South Carolina schools is reported for grades seven through twelve. Dropouts are categorized based on the grade level they fail to enroll in during the fall term. For instance, a student who leaves before completing ninth grade and does not return after summer is considered a ninth-grade dropout. If a student completes ninth grade but does not enroll in tenth grade after summer, they are classified as a tenth-grade dropout.

Ungraded students are assigned a nominal grade level determined by subtracting five from their age on October 1 of the current school year. For example, a fifteen-year-old student's nominal grade level would be grade ten. Students over the age of seventeen who are ungraded are reported as twelfth graders.

Twelfth-grade dropouts are calculated by totaling students who have not graduated during regular or summer terms and have not reenrolled for the current school year. This ensures accurate reporting and tracking of dropout statistics across different grade levels in the state.

School "Leavers" - those who are not enrolled...

It is crucial to differentiate between students who officially withdraw from school and those who leave for valid reasons. The following chart outlines the specific status of each type of school departure and indicates whether each student should or should not be classified as a dropout.

For a complete list see Section 2 of this document: https://ed.sc.gov/districts-schools/school-safety/discipline-related-reports/dropout-data/2024-dropout-policies-and-procedures-manual/

Reporting

Dropout Reporting

Ensure that the following fields are completed for each student:

student’s grade level
student’s full legal name
student's full preferred name
student’s number
student’s Social Security number (if available)
student’s SUNS (State ID) number
student’s ethnicity
student’s gender (legal and preferred)
student’s date of birth
student’s free/reduced meals status
student’s English proficiency
student’s migrant status
homeless
EFA codes
exit code
dropout reason code
dropout date