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Board hears countywide attendance plan; new 52-hour intervention threshold proposed
Summary
School administrators reported a county-coordinated attendance policy with new triggers: letters at roughly 2.5%, 5% and 10% attendance thresholds and an earlier intervention meeting at 52 hours (about eight days) to address chronic absenteeism.
Mr. Shoemaker presented a countywide approach to attendance and truancy, explaining the district joined other county schools to standardize thresholds and notification practices.
He outlined the absence thresholds the county will use to identify unexcused absences: 30 consecutive hours, 42 or more hours in a month, and 72 or more hours in a school year. The board discussed notification timing and decided to issue letters at approximately 2.5%, 5% and 10% thresholds to flag early concerns.
Notably, the district intends to require an attendance intervention plan meeting at 52 hours of absence (about eight full school days, based on a 6.5-hour school day). Shoemaker said the earlier intervention is intended to provide supports before family absences accumulate into chronic absenteeism and to create consistency across county schools when truancy is filed with the courts.
Board members asked how hours would be logged (the district’s student-information system reports presence/absence and will trigger half-day flags for certain inputs) and how the district will communicate changes to parents. Shoemaker said communication plans will include orientation events, newsletters and open houses and that letters will be sent based on hours recorded in the attendance system.
The board praised county coordination and noted that some threshold choices may require ongoing adjustment and clear communication to families.
