Santa Fe ISD staff propose tighter attendance coding, say thousands of period absences are costing district funding

At the March 30 Santa Fe Independent School District meeting, staff delivered an attendance and accounting update and recommended narrowing the district's use of the label “excused” so it aligns more closely with state rules, citing confusion among parents and a material funding impact.

“There's a great deal of misunderstanding and miscommunication when it comes to the definition versus the meaning of an excused absence,” Miss Rachel Harris, who led the presentation, told trustees. Harris said state law and district policy already list many categories that the state considers excused — including observance of religious holidays, court appearances, Department of Family and Protective Services-required absences, the U.S. naturalization oath, some higher-education visits (with limits), armed-service enlistment, early voting clerk duties and learner's permit or driver's license activities — but that local practice has expanded the use of the “excused” label beyond…