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Board committee examines attendance policy language; revised handbook section due in May
Summary
The Parent-Teacher Advisory Behavioral Interventions Committee reviewed legal alignment and proposed clarifications to excused and unexcused absence language. The committee will present a revised attendance section in mid-May for inclusion in the June student handbook approval.
The Parent-Teacher Advisory Behavioral Interventions Committee (PTA BIC) met and reviewed alignment between board policy and legal mandates for student attendance, and discussed clarifying the district’s definitions of excused and unexcused absences.
A committee presenter told the board the group has collected feedback from multiple stakeholders and is considering changes aimed at reducing confusion about which absences are excused, because aggregated absence counts contribute to the district’s chronic absenteeism rate. The committee emphasized balancing teacher flexibility in supporting absent students with policies that encourage consistent in-person attendance.
Committee members discussed interventions, including earlier family outreach when attendance patterns emerge and potential online reporting tools to make absence reporting easier for families. The committee is beta testing online absence-reporting options and said it will bring a revised attendance section for the student handbook to the committee in mid-May; the full district student handbook is scheduled for board approval in June.
Speakers praised the committee’s cross‑sector membership — parents, counselors, teachers and district staff — and characterized chronic absenteeism as a layered problem requiring coordinated responses. No specific policy language or legal citations were adopted at the meeting; the committee will return with proposed handbook language for board consideration.
