One of a series of implementation documents prepared in conjunction with the revised minimum standards adopted in 1983 by the Ohio State Board of Education for elementary and secondary schools, this publication provides guidelines for developing attendance policies and procedures, reviews considerations related to attendance, and suggests practices and alternatives for improving attendance. The guidelines are divided into two parts: (1) the philosophical basis for policy and procedures development and (2) suggested procedural components. The components include (1) definitions of excused absences, (2) attendance reporting and accounting, (3) attendance-related responsibilities of the staff, (4) home-school communications, and (5) corrective measures and penalties. Following these guidelines is a discussion of chronic absenteeism and truancy, including its causes and consequences for the student, school, and society; intervention strategies focusing on the student, school, and society; and in-school factors affecting good school attendance. The next chapter discusses incentive practices for maintaining and improving school attendance, and this is followed by a description of alternative school programs for chronic absentees, dropouts, and other problematic students in various school districts throughout the country. The last two chapters discuss options to out-of-school suspension and legal considerations for attendance policies and procedures, including state statutes on student attendance and rights of due process. A bibliography is included. (TE)