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District reports chronic absenteeism falling toward pre‑pandemic levels; new state law changes notification and excused‑absence rules
Summary
District student services leaders described implementation of 2024 changes to Iowa attendance law, weekly monitoring and a decline in chronic absenteeism to about 11% to date in 2024–25. Officials explained the district’s notification process and the difference between mandatory county‑attorney notifications and formal referrals.
District staff briefed the board on changes to state attendance law and local implementation steps, and reported chronic absenteeism is improving toward pre‑pandemic levels.
Director Callahan and Kara Pratner, senior specialist for student services, explained that Senate File 2435 (enacted summer 2024) changed which absences the state classifies as exempt or excused, moved attendance monitoring to grading periods, and required districts to notify the county attorney at specified thresholds. "This is what we put in place based on what the law requires and then the additional steps that we've decided on," Pratner told the board.
The district’s process now…
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