Currently the Education Act of 1995 states that “the compulsory school age in Saskatchewan is seven to 15 years inclusive. Persons responsible for a student (e.g. a parent or guardian) must ensure the student's regular attendance at a county school if the student is of compulsory school age (Walk, Chomos, Burgess, 2009, p.4) ”. It is important to understand that in the province of Saskatchewan, regular attendance is mandatory and carries predetermined consequences for failure to comply with this responsibility. Challenges in managing student attendance are directly related to a priority of publicly funded schools and must be addressed in a way that has a high level of importance. Through statistics, research and studies, this document will examine the rationale for specific attendance challenges, the relationship to student outcomes, stakeholder interests, ethical and legal issues, and finally strategies to improve the situation. Rationale With the media and communities having an increasing interest in large-scale evaluation and quantitative comparison of schools and divisions, schools are considered successes or failures based on a select number of variables. This also applies to the unique diversity situations present in our province. One of the main variables is student attendance. It may seem irrelevant that attendance is used to make comparisons as required by law, but the effects of low attendance rates are vast. It not only impacts individual student learning, but also the school as a community. There are direct relationships between low attendance rates and a school that offers a lower quality education. However this document will not focus on comparisons of schools regarding attendance rate but based on… half of the document… Continuous Improvement Framework: A Guide for School Division Strategic Planning (document number 12181). Regina, S. K. Kwarteng, E. F., (2006). Implementation of the Nunavut Education Act: Compulsory School Attendance Policy. Canadian Journal of Educational Administration and Policy, 55.Melnechenko, L., Horsman, H. (1998). Factors contributing to Aboriginal students' academic success in grades 6 to 9. Saskatchewan Education.Saskatchewan Ministry of Education. (2009) Saskatchewan Education Indicators Report. Regina, S. K. Walker, K., Chomos, J., Burgess, D. (2009). A guide to Saskatchewan school law. (ed.).Saskatoon, SK: Saskatchewan Educational Leadership Unit.Young, J., Levin, B., Wallin, D. (2007). Understanding Canadian schools: An introduction to educational administration (4 ed). Ontario: Thomson Nelson.