(a) Every child who has completed, or will have completed, six (6) years of life on or before September 1 of any school year, or is enrolled in kindergarten, and has not completed eighteen (18) years of life, shall regularly attend some public day school during all the days and hours that the public schools are in session in the city or town in which the child resides. The public school shall be responsible for regular attendance data monitoring of all students and early identification of emergent truant behavior. Prior to referring truant students to family court, schools must do their due diligence to assure all interventions have taken place. This includes, and is not limited to:
(1) Consultation with the parent or guardian; and
(2) Coordination with the student's school-identified support team such as the individualized education plan, behavioral support, or attendance teams.
Every person having under his or her control a child, as described in this section, shall cause the child to attend school as required by this section, and for every neglect of this duty, the person having control of the child shall be fined not exceeding fifty dollars ($50.00) for each day, or part of a day, that the child fails to attend school, and if the total of these days is more than thirty (30) school days during any school year, then the person shall, upon conviction, be imprisoned not exceeding six (6) months or shall be fined not more than five hundred dollars ($500), or both; provided, that if the person so charged shall prove that the child has attended, for the required period of time, a private day school approved by the commissioner of elementary and secondary education pursuant to § 16-60-6(10); or a course of at-home instruction approved by the school committee of the town where the child resides; or has been accepted into an accredited postsecondary education program; or has obtained a waiver under subsection (b); or that the physical or mental condition of the child was such as to render his or her attendance at school inexpedient or impracticable; or that the child was excluded from school by virtue of some other general law or regulation, then attendance shall not be obligatory nor shall the penalty be incurred.
(d) No school shall use a student's truancy or absenteeism as the sole basis for using an out-of-school suspension as a disciplinary action.