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Burlington schools to revise attendance policy to align with DESE chronic-absence reporting
Summary
District staff told the committee that aligning local attendance rules with Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) reporting — which treats any absence toward chronic absenteeism regardless of excused status — would trigger earlier outreach to families and could change which families receive warning letters.
District staff and committee members discussed proposed changes to Burlington’s local attendance policy to align with state reporting on chronic absenteeism and to improve earlier family outreach and intervention.
At issue: DESE treats students who attend 90% or less of school days (18 or more absences in a 180-day calendar) as chronically absent whether absences are recorded as excused or unexcused. Burlington’s current local policy treats parental calls as excused absences and does not always trigger the same early outreach that DESE expects.
Robin, a district attendance coordinator, told the committee that because the state does not distinguish between excused and unexcused absences for chronic-absence reporting, the district’s ability to intervene earlier is limited by local practice. Robin said the district had 13% of students classified as chronically absent under the DESE 90% threshold and about 13.5% in a warning range.
Why this matters: Committee members said misalignment between local policy and DESE reporting can affect school accountability ratings and mask which students need earlier support. Staff said aligning local policy to treat absences consistently with DESE would increase letters and outreach to families who had not previously received that communication under the old local practice.
Discussion and clarifications: - Long-term medical or court-ordered absences would still be treated appropriately; committee members asked for clearer definitions of medically excused absences so families with legitimate health events are not unduly alarmed. - District staff noted the change could increase the number of family notification letters and that communication must be framed as supportive rather than punitive. - Committee members discussed the operational steps: adopt revised policy language (first reading planned in July), update student handbooks, and establish a standard set of letters/contacts for the 5‑ and 18‑day thresholds used for outreach.
Next steps: Staff will draft policy language and sample family communications for committee review in July. The district will also create a report in Aspen to flag students approaching chronic-absence thresholds to prompt earlier, consistent interventions.
Ending: Committee members emphasized the objective of improving student learning by engaging families earlier and that the district will seek to balance clear, consistent policy with sensitivity for medical and special circumstances.
