Skip First Level Navigation | Skip All Navigation

Home > Rules & Legislation > Letters from the Commissioner > Administrative Letter 033

Electronic Reporting of Elevated School Absenteeism

ADMINISTRATIVE LETTER: 33
POLICY CODE: JF/KLL

 

TO:                  Superintendents of Schools
FROM:            Susan A. Gendron, Commissioner of Education
                        Dr. Dora A. Mills, Director, Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention
DATE:             February 11, 2010
RE:                   Electronic Reporting of Elevated School Absenteeism

Topics in this Letter

General Description
Authority to Collect
Directions
Training Opportunities
Contact Information

General Description

Schools have long partnered with the Maine Center for Disease Control (Maine CDC) to report elevated absentee rates (15% or greater).  The Maine Department of Education and Maine CDC have collaborated to design an application to collect this information electronically.  The School Absenteeism Reporting Form is now available in MEDMS, and this electronic form will replace the “School Nurse Absentee Reporting Form” that is currently in use.  Both methods will be acceptable through the end of the 2009-10 school year, but only the electronic form will be accepted for the upcoming 2010-11 school year.

Authority to Collect

Maine CDC requests the report of outbreak of infectious diseases, evidenced by an unusual or sudden increase in illness, as required under the Rules for the Control of Notifiable Conditions(10-144 CMR Ch. 258).  Educational institutions are required to report notifiable conditions.

Directions

School nurses, or other designated reporting staff, will need to have an account in MEDMS with the “SAU Absentee Admin” role added.  This role allows the user to report elevated absenteeism for any school in the SAU.  It should also be noted that MEDMS users with the “SAU Admin” role already have permission to work with this form, and can assign the new role to other users.  Contact the local MEDMS administrator for account creation or changes that may be necessary. 

Instructions on how to use the form in MEDMS can be found at:  http://www.maine.gov/education/medms/resources/absenteeism.htm

Training Opportunities

In an effort to assist users with electronic reporting procedures, online webinars have been scheduled for later in the month.  Please visit: http://www.maine.gov/education/lds/training.html and click on the “Registration” link.  You will find the webinars under the Just-In-Time Training, “Policies/Procedures/Communication” category.

Contact Information

  • For questions regarding when and what to report please contact Maine CDC at disease.reporting@maine.gov at 1-800-821-5821
  • For inquiries regarding training opportunities, please contact Daniel Chuhta at daniel.chuhta@maine.gov or 207-624-6810
  • For technical questions regarding the “School Absenteeism Reporting Form” please contact the MEDMS helpdesk at MEDMS.helpdesk@maine.gov or 207-624-6896