Board weighs updated attendance policy with new state truancy provisions and warnings about criminalizing parents

Board members reviewed revisions to Policy 5200 (attendance) that reflect recent legislative changes and require parents to attend attendance conferences. The revised language discussed at the meeting states that “the student's parent may be subject to prosecution under Indiana code,” language trustees said will have significant local effects.

Trustees raised two main concerns: that enforcement could disproportionately affect families in the district’s urban neighborhoods and that the policy does not address underlying obstacles — in particular hazardous walking routes and reductions in bus service — that contribute to chronic absenteeism. One trustee warned the policy could cause a ‘chilling effect’ in which parents immediately withdraw children from district schools rather than risk criminal penalties.

Several trustees urged immediate, local action to identify children who walk unsafe routes and to restore transportation or other mitigations before escalation to the prosecutor’s office. Administration said it would consult legal counsel where necessary and noted additional legislative-driven policy updates are still being incorporated.

What happens next: trustees asked administration to clarify whether the district has a truant officer, to confirm how the prosecutor’s office would be engaged, and to return with guidance on exceptions or mitigations for students whose absences are driven by documented safety or transportation barriers.