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District reports falling chronic-absenteeism rates and considers Hazel Health telemedicine pilot

5785788 · September 18, 2025
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Summary

Superintendent reported modest declines in chronic absenteeism and outlined plans to explore a telehealth service, Hazel Health, as one potential mitigation strategy; costs were described as potentially covered by donor funding for the coming year.

The Churchill County School District reported a downward trend in chronic absenteeism but said the rates remain above state goals and the district will pursue new interventions, including a possible telehealth pilot.

Superintendent Parsons told the board the district’s best estimate for the 2024–25 districtwide chronic-absence rate is 21.4 percent (NSPF metric) and 30.3 percent on the federal Nevada report-card measure, and noted the district wants both rates to fall. The board’s stated goal is 20 percent on the federal metric.

Parsons described the district’s planned research into the link between absenteeism and academic outcomes, saying staff will drill into secondary-school data to see how absences relate to grades and graduation risk. He also outlined a proposed pilot of Hazel Health, a telemedicine provider other Nevada districts have used, to give students virtual access to medical and behavioral-health providers through the school nurse’s office.

District materials and the superintendent said Hazel Health would be voluntary and require parental consent. Parents could join a virtual visit remotely; nurses would be present when students used the service at school. The district said Hazel Health reports that after visits 9 in 10 students can return to class and that parents report reduced missed work; those vendor statistics were summarized by district staff during the presentation.

Parsons said a private donor has offered to cover the pilot’s cost for the current year and that the estimated annual subscription would be in the mid-five-figure range (district comment: roughly $17,000 per year). Trustees asked staff to gather more district-to-district comparative data on outcomes from telehealth and to return with a recommendation if a pilot is viable.

Board members also heard staff report on other attendance-reduction strategies already in place: principal and teacher communications to families, targeted interventions, and referral to child-welfare or law enforcement when required by policy. The superintendent said staff will include chronic-absence data on monthly principal reports and continue to seek state guidance on measurement and supports.