ISD 191 committee advances proposal to allow up to five excused vacation days for students

The Burnsville Public School District ISD 191 Policy Review Committee on Aug. 19 placed proposed updates to Policy 503 (student attendance) on first reading that would allow families to excuse up to five school days in a given school year for family vacations. District staff presented the change as a way to provide consistent guidance across schools while preserving avenues for additional exceptions.

District staff described the proposal as: "family vacations totaling up to 5 days within the school year could be excused," noting that principals or a designee could still review requests for additional extenuating circumstances. Staff also said the district already has a tracking code that captures vacation absences: "There's a code for it," a staff member said, adding that coded absences would be treated as excused for recordkeeping.

Committee members pressed staff on enforcement and the policy's potential effect on attendance metrics. One member asked, "Do we wanna make it easier for families to miss school?" and others raised whether the five days must be consecutive or could be taken intermittently across the year. Staff answered that the current drafting treats the five days as cumulative within the school year, and that families could still apply to a principal or designated school official for exceptions beyond five days.

Supporters said the five-day figure reflects a balance between family realities and statewide attendance thresholds; staff noted the number was chosen to remain within common state attendance benchmarks and to allow some leeway for ordinary family travel without immediately pushing students into chronic absentee categories.

The committee did not vote to adopt the policy; members agreed to put the proposed language on first reading and to bring the item to the full board for further consideration. No formal vote tally was recorded at the committee meeting.