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Marshalltown staff outline changes to attendance coding under new state law; parents warned about 8‑day trigger
Summary
District staff reviewed state attendance requirements (Senate File 2435) and proposed regulation changes: family vacation grace days would be removed, the district may ‘soft‑drop’ long absences rather than wait nine consecutive days, and letters will be sent after roughly 8 unexcused absences per semester.
At the Aug. 4 meeting, district staff explained proposed revisions to attendance regulations so local practices align with a new Iowa law and state reporting rules. Staff emphasized that the changes are intended to comply with state requirements while treating families with “kindness, grace, and compassion.”
Ellie Harris Medina (attendance staff) reviewed the state guidance and said the district would change coding and some local procedures to match Senate File 2435. Medina summarized the state thresholds staff are using: schools send a letter after roughly 10% unexcused absences (about eight days per semester), require a meeting when unexcused absences reach about 12 days, and refer cases at about 20% (about 17 unexcused days in a semester) to the…
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