This study examined issues related to student absenteeism in the Ontario schools. Eight elementary and sixteen secondary schools made up the sample. Data were gathered from school attendance records, questionnaires administered to teachers and students, school board policy statements, and interview schedules. Results suggest that a number of factors are related to attendance: satisfaction with school; perception of effectiveness of school policies limiting truancy and class-skipping; success at school; perceived relevance of the school to student interests; and student and teacher attitudes toward absenteeism and class-skipping. No relationship between poor attendance and dropping out was found in the sample schools. The analysis of attendance policies suggests that local school boards have generally not been active in regulating student absenteeism. Most responsibility for regulating attendance appears to rest on the shoulders of principals, who operate without the support of well developed school board attendance regulations. A literature search and the teachers' questionnaires reveal that although teachers favor more enforcement of regulations, experience elsewhere suggests that alternative approaches are more effective. (Author/JM)