Board adopts attendance policy 3050 with edits; clarifies verified vs. unverified absences

The Teton School District Board of Trustees approved revisions to Policy 3050 (attendance) April 22, directing staff to submit minor grammatical edits before final implementation.

Administrators explained the key practical differences in the draft: a "verified" absence occurs when a parent calls to report a student’s absence and serves both safety and attendance‑tracking purposes; a district‑excused absence follows district rules for excusal; an "unverified" absence occurs when the school cannot confirm the child's whereabouts and is treated as a safety concern that can trigger truancy processes. The superintendent’s team emphasized that, for purposes of state truancy rules and credit at the secondary level, verified and unverified designations affect follow‑up differently — verified absences allow staff to work with families to create make‑up plans while unverified absences may trigger state processes.

Board members asked whether the policy should list specific consequences for falling below a 90% attendance threshold; administrators said they intentionally left consequences case‑by‑case and suggested schools address specific enforcement details in student handbooks and through building‑level interventions. Trustees approved the policy with the requested grammatical clarifications to be returned to the board before posting.