North Dakota Code § 15.1-20-03

Compulsory attendance law - Enforcement - Penalty
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1. Each teacher and administrator is charged with the enforcement of compulsory 
attendance provisions. The compulsory attendance provisions are applicable to any 
student who is offered school facilities by a school district, regardless of whether or not 
the student actually resides in the district.
2. If a teacher determines that a student is not in attendance as required by this chapter 
and that the student has not been excused in accordance with this chapter or in 
accordance with the school district's or nonpublic school's policies, the teacher shall 
notify the administrator of the school.
3. Upon receiving notice of a student's absence under subsection 2, the administrator 
shall initiate an investigation into the cause of the absence. If the administrator has 
reason to believe that the person having responsibility for the student has failed to 
ensure that the student is in attendance, the administrator shall refer the matter to the 
local law enforcement agency.
4. Any person who fails to ensure that a student is in attendance as required by this 
chapter is guilty of an infraction for a first offense and is guilty of a class B 
misdemeanor for a second or subsequent offense.
5. In a prosecution for an offense under this section, it is an affirmative defense if the 
person responsible for ensuring that the student is in attendance has made substantial 
and reasonable efforts to comply with the requirements of this section, but is unable to 
compel the student to attend school. If the court determines that the affirmative 
defense is valid, the court shall dismiss the complaint against the person.

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