This guide to children out of school is addressed mainly, but not exclusively, to school districts, school personnel, and concerned citizens in the State of Ohio. The greatest focus is on the educator's role in assuring that all children are served and on finding solutions when school participation problems exist. The basic position on attendance of the Citizens Council for Ohio Schools is outlined, with an emphasis on student well-being and the importance of using data for identifying problems and developing policy. Three chapters follow, each of which discusses a different attendance problem and outlines the Council's position on the issue, as well as providing a bibliography of relevant literature. The first chapter describes Ohio's attendance legislation and considers ways of determining when absenteeism is a problem. School attendance data for Ohio are given, as are some explanations for why children stay away and some suggestions for intervention. Chapter II provides an overview of the controversy about school exclusion (relating it to the school desegregation movement) and discusses the wisdom of suspension and expulsion as disciplinary measures. Some alternatives to suspension are discussed, and legal issues and data on exclusionary practices in Ohio are considered. The subject of Chapter III is dropouts. Relevant legal issues are detailed, a history of dropping out as a major problem is presented, and Ohio dropout data are presented. Finally, some solutions to the droupout problem are considered. (KH)