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Watchung Hills will rename some absence codes to clarify state categories; attendance calculations unchanged
Summary
The education committee recommended relabeling certain student absences as "absence with reason" rather than using "excused" for all non‑truancy absences, to align coding with the state's definition of excused absences; the district said the change affects terminology only, not how attendance is calculated.
The Watchung Hills Regional High School District education committee proposed a change to absence coding that will clarify which absences meet the state’s definition of “excused” and which do not, administrators told the board at its May 13 meeting.
District staff said confusion arose because the term “excused” was used in two different ways: to denote the seven state‑authorized categories that do not count against a student’s attendance, and more loosely to mean any absence with a valid reason (for example, illness). To eliminate ambiguity, the district will begin coding absences that have a valid reason but do not meet the state’s excused categories as “absence with reason.” Those absences will still count toward a student’s overall attendance record; state‑approved excused categories will continue to be coded as excused in the limited, statutory sense and will not count toward average daily attendance calculations.
A board member emphasized that the change is terminology only and does not alter the way attendance is calculated or reported. The education committee recommended the handbook and parent communications be updated so families and staff understand the coding distinctions in advance.
The committee discussed communications plans and requested that the handbook language make the difference clear to students, families and staff to avoid misinterpretation.
