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District staff proposes adding a truancy metric to strategic plan; board presses for alignment with procedures
Summary
Staff proposed adding a metric that counts students with five or more unexcused absences (truancy) to the strategic plan, aiming to reduce truancy incrementally through family communication, EDIA messaging and tiered supports. Board members asked how the new metric will align with forthcoming administrative procedures and how schools will address students who are 'truent while in the building.'
District staff on June 2 asked the board to add a truancy metric to the district’s strategic plan through 2029, alongside the existing chronic‑absenteeism target.
Dr. Connley explained the proposal and definitions: chronic absenteeism counts students missing 10% or more of the school year for any reason; the district’s chronic rate fell from 28% to about 24.8% this year. The proposed truancy metric targets students with five or more unexcused absences in a school year (currently about 34.4% of students by that definition) and would aim to reduce that rate by roughly 8 percentage points annually.
Staff emphasized interventions that complement the metric: improved family notification (parent & EDIA messaging), school‑level tiered supports (attendance contracts, mentoring, tutoring, referrals to mental‑health services), and pre‑court truancy mediation that can be used before court referral. Dr. Connley said referrals at five unexcused days trigger communications and tiered supports; court referral requires a higher threshold and documented intervention history.
Board members pressed for alignment between the strategic metric and the district’s administrative procedures. Board member Ashley Anderson and others warned the truancy count could paradoxically fall if administrators stop reporting cases; staff responded the metric is intended to be data‑driven and that the district will train administrators, clarify referral procedures in the principal leadership institute and publish an attendance guidebook.
Members also asked about students who are physically in schools but miss class (common at secondary schools). Staff said schools vary in practice and administrators will need clearer, consistent strategies to address in‑building truancy.
What happens next: The board treated the item as a report and invited follow‑up; staff said they could bring the proposal back on a discussion agenda and work to align administrative procedures and training before asking the board to adopt the metric formally.
