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Pulaski County schools report lower discipline incidents and chronic absenteeism; VSBA policy updates headed to second reading
Summary
Superintendent and student services staff reported a year-over-year drop in disciplinary incidents and about a 16% decrease in chronic absenteeism, and told the board that Virginia School Boards Association policy updates will come back for adoption to apply next school year.
Pulaski County Public Schools officials told the Pulaski County School Board that disciplinary incidents fell from the prior year and chronic absenteeism declined by roughly 16%, improvements staff attributed to newly formed student services work and targeted attendance efforts.
A presenter said the district recorded “2,364 incidents total,” and that was “down about, a 100 incidents from from last year, 110 incidents from last year,” noting the district’s data visualizations on month-by-month trends. The board heard that March showed an uptick compared with other months but that overall incidents and chronic absenteeism have decreased.
On attendance, staff reported gains across school levels: “The high school and middle school were at 91% as far as attendance. Everybody else was 94 with Riverlawn and Snowville being at 95,” a student-services staff member said. That staff member added the district recorded about a 16% decrease in chronic absenteeism after implementing incentives, increased outreach and principal-led attendance meetings.
Board members praised the student services team and requested additional staffing to sustain gains. A board member said the student services department had “been a whole lot of help for us,” and staff flagged plans to pursue more positions to further reduce chronic absenteeism.
Separately, staff briefed the board on Virginia School Boards Association (VSBA) policy updates. A staff presenter said the packet represented a “book” of updates driven largely by legislative changes and noted there are specific new provisions — for example, updates related to student cell phone use — that staff will bring to the board as a second reading in July so the changes can be implemented for the 2025–26 school year.
No formal votes were recorded on the attendance, discipline, or VSBA policy items at the meeting; staff asked the board to expect the policy updates on the July agenda for final action.
