Lebanon schools briefed on recent state attendance law, teacher-evaluation changes and federal Title funding uncertainties

The Lebanon Community School Corporation received an update on July 15 about recent state K–12 policy changes and uncertainty around federal education funding that administrators say will affect staffing, training and program spending this coming school year.

Superintendent provided the summary so families and staff can expect clarifying communications before school starts. She said state changes separate the definitions of “chronically absent” and “habitually truant,” change some staff-training requirements, remove a state template for school improvement plans, and return more control over local teacher-evaluation systems to districts.

The changes to the attendance law, the superintendent said, make a student who misses more than 5% of enrolled days “chronically absent”; schools must hold conferences at statutory thresholds but will not proceed toward truancy enforcement where parents and…